Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s plan to pass control of his businesses to his eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, will be challenged in court by several of his other children this week—behind closed doors—as the heirs apparent fight for control of the empire that includes Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.
Rupert Murdoch with his sons Lachlan Murdoch, left, and James Murdoch at St Bride’s Church on March 5, 2016 in London, England.
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Key Takeaways
- Murdoch, 93, last year petitioned to grant exclusive control of the family trust that includes his vast empire to Lachlan, 53, the chairman of News Corp—the parent firm of the print empire that includes the Wall Street Journal and New York Post—and executive chairman and CEO of the Fox Corporation, which includes Fox News and Fox Sports.
- But the eldest three of Rupert Murdoch’s five remaining children (James, 51, Elisabeth, 56, and Prudence, 66), who were set to get equal voting shares under Murdoch’s original succession plan, are fighting back against their father’s attempt to give sole control to their brother (all six of the children have an equal share of the trust’s equity.)
- A Nevada probate commissioner found in June that there is nothing stopping Murdoch from amending his trust as long as he is acting in good faith and in such a way that will benefit all of his heirs—intentions he will seek to prove at a week-long trial.
- In a sealed document obtained by The New York Times, Rupert Murdoch argued to the court that giving sole control of the empire to Lachlan is the only way to maintain the conservative editorial bent of his media outlets, which in turn is what will protect their commercial value.
- Court documents suggest Murdoch is worried his children other than Lachlan could choose to “reorient” the “editorial policy and content” of some of his holdings, including the right-wing Fox News (James Murdoch endorsed Kamala Harris for president earlier this year).
- Neither lawyers for Murdoch nor for his three children returned Forbes’ request for comment Friday.
What To Watch For
Proceedings will take place Sept. 16-20 but will not be open to the press. A Nevada judge rejected pleas from a coalition of media organizations including CNN, The New York Times, NPR, the Washington Post and Reuters to allow media access.
Who Is Lachlan Murdoch?
Lachlan, the third-oldest of Rupert’s six children and his eldest son, is one of three children born to Murdoch and his second wife, Anna Maria Torv. Lachlan Murdoch spent his entire life working for his father’s empire and has worked his way up from general manager of an Australian print publishing arm to the head of Fox and News Corp. Lachlan has been involved with some of the empire’s biggest decisions to date, including the $71 billion sale of the 21st Century Fox entertainment division to Disney in 2019 and the decision for Fox News to pay a $787.5 million defamation settlement over the network’s false claims of 2020 election fraud. A source close to the Murdoch family last year said Lachlan has long been considered his father’s “golden child.”
Key Background
Rupert Murdoch was 22 when he inherited two newspapers in Adelaide, Australia following his father’s death. He went on to acquire a number of papers in Australia and New Zealand in the 1950s and 60s, and later expanded into the United Kingdom and United States. He amassed all his major holdings through his company News Corporation, acquired 20th Century Fox, created Fox, Inc. and founded Fox News.
In the 2000s, Murdoch was embroiled in scandal both in the United States and the UK over claims staffers at his tabloid “News of the World” allegedly hacked the phones of celebrities, politicians and members of the British royal family, as well as tried to illegally hack the phones of Sept. 11 victims.
The newspaper ultimately closed. Rupert Murdoch named James Murdoch his successor as CEO of 21st Century Fox in 2015, but James resigned from News Corp. in 2020. James Murdoch has been a critic of the far-right elements of his family empire.
Forbes Valuation
The Murdoch family was ranked by Forbes as the 96th richest in the world Friday with an estimated net worth of $20.1 billion.
This article was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
