Rupert Murdoch, the 93-year-old media tycoon, spent the past 70 years building a global media empire that gave him influence in journalism, politics and pop culture.

He’s now locked in a court battle with three of his children over the future of the business, which own Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and major newspapers and television outlets in Australia and Britain.

With dozens of acquisitions, Mr. Murdoch created the media conglomerate known for the rise of the modern tabloid and conservative commentary. His tenure has not been without scandal: One of his properties in Britain folded in 2011 after a phone-hacking inquiry, and he admitted last year that Fox News had spread falsehoods about the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Here’s how Mr. Murdoch built his empire:

1950s

The Australian-born mogul ventured into media in 1952 when he inherited his family’s business after the death of his father, Keith Murdoch. A 21-year-old Oxford student, he inherited The News of Adelaide, a newspaper in southern Australia with a circulation of 75,000.

1960s

Mr. Murdoch bought several local newspapers in Australia in the 1960s, including The Sunday Times in Perth and The Daily Mirror in Sydney. In 1964, he founded The Australian, a national newspaper.