Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his wife Jerry have paid around $200 million to buy a massive Montana working cattle ranch owned by a subsidiary of Koch Industries named Matador Cattle Co. a new report revealed Thursday.
The mega-land deal between two pillars of the American conservative establishment was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which is owned by Murdoch’s News Corp., and which is a sister property to his right-wing Fox News network.
The 340,000-acre Beaverhead Ranch, which has 25 homes, primarily for workers, sits near Yellowstone National Park.
“This is a profound responsibility,” Rupert Murdoch, 90, told The Journal through a spokesman about the purchase, which the listing agent said was the largest ranch deal in Montana history.
“We feel privileged to assume ownership of this beautiful land and look forward to continually enhancing both the commercial cattle business and the conservation assets across the ranch,” Murdoch said.
In an email to CNBC, Murdoch’s spokeswoman Jessie Lyons said, “I can confirm the Journal story re: Beaverhead Ranch, with the exception of the price paid for the property.”
“We have no comment on that,” Lyons said.
The Journal noted that Beaverhead Ranch was first purchased more than 70 years ago by Fred Koch, the founder of an oil business that became Koch Industries.
That company is now headed by Fred’s son, the billionaire Charles Koch, whose network of political advocacy groups routinely backs Republican candidates and libertarian-leaning candidates, and often supports conservative policy efforts.