Mitsotakis and Murdoch Dine Together in Tinos

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis shared a discreet evening with Rupert Murdoch, the Australian-American media tycoon, during a summer stop on the Cycladic island of Tinos. The dinner, held at a traditional seaside fish taverna, brought together two influential figures accompanied by their wives, Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis and Elena Zhukova.

A Quiet Dinner with Powerful Company

According to reports, Murdoch did not arrive alone. Joining him at the table were senior executives from his media empire, including Rebekah Brooks, the long-serving chief executive of News UK, widely known as the “iron lady” of Murdoch’s newspapers, and Keith Poole, editor-in-chief of the New York Post.

The evening was notably low-key, with the group choosing to stay away from cameras and the public spotlight.

At 94, Rupert Murdoch remains one of the most recognisable figures in global media. His holdings, through News Corp and Fox Corporation, include the Wall Street Journal, The Sun, the Times of London, the New York Post, and the influential Fox News Channel in the United States. His reach has shaped political discourse across continents for decades, and his personal movements continue to attract international attention.

Murdoch had sailed into Tinos aboard his luxury yacht M’BRACE, having arrived from Skiathos earlier in the week. Anchoring off Diamanti Beach, the tycoon was spotted enjoying swims in the waters of Marathon and time on stand-up paddleboards with his guests - an unusually relaxed image of a man more commonly associated with boardrooms and front pages.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis had travelled from neighbouring Mykonos earlier that day, where he and his wife Mareva were staying at the villa of businessman Michalis Theocharakis. The dinner in Tinos offered a brief pause in the Prime Minister’s summer itinerary and added a distinctly international dimension to his island visit.

While the dinner was described as informal and social, meetings between sitting political leaders and powerful media magnates inevitably carry weight. Murdoch’s media outlets wield significant influence on public opinion and political narratives, particularly in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

For Mitsotakis, whose government has been steering Greece through a period of economic growth, energy diversification, and shifting geopolitical dynamics, the opportunity to connect personally with Murdoch may also be viewed through a wider lens of diplomacy, image, and media relations.

 

Murdoch’s presence in Greece comes at a time of transition within his empire. In 2023, he announced he would step down as chairman of Fox and News Corp, handing the reins to his son Lachlan Murdoch, though he remains a figurehead with enduring influence.

Meanwhile, Greece continues to attract high-profile international visitors, particularly to the Cyclades, where luxury tourism, yachting, and cultural cachet intersect. For Tinos, long known as a pilgrimage site and more recently as a discreet destination for the cosmopolitan elite, the dinner was another reminder of its rising profile.

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