The succession battle at Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has ended, with the family announcing that Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son, will secure control of the business. Under the deal, Lachlan’s three oldest siblings – Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch and James Murdoch – will each receive an estimated $1.1 billion for their shares, ending a bitter legal dispute reminiscent of the HBO series Succession.
The agreement resolves a court case in Reno, Nevada, where the siblings challenged Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to alter an irrevocable trust to give Lachlan sole voting power. The project, internally called “Project Family Harmony,” was described by a Nevada commissioner as a “carefully crafted charade” to “permanently cement Lachlan Murdoch’s executive roles”. Commissioner Edmund Gorman concluded that Rupert and Lachlan had acted in “bad faith”.
Rupert Murdoch, 94, had argued that Lachlan was best placed to lead his media empire, which includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and The Times. In private messages, he wrote: “Lachlan is the best to run the business — greatly respected inside and outside!” He described his media assets as a “protector of the conservative voice in the English-speaking world”.
Family and political differences had driven a wedge between Lachlan and his siblings. James Murdoch has been a vocal critic of Fox News’s political slant, calling it a “menace” to US democracy. The siblings finally agreed to the buyout after the case went into appeal.
Under the settlement, Chloe and Grace Murdoch – Rupert’s children with his third wife, Wendy Deng – will join Lachlan in a new family trust that holds controlling stakes in Fox Corporation and News Corp. News Corp welcomed the developments, stating that Lachlan’s leadership “will continue to be important to guiding the Company’s strategy and success”.
Lachlan Murdoch, who succeeded his father as News Corp chair in 2023, is now the de facto heir to one of the world’s most powerful media businesses, which also controls HarperCollins and streaming service Tubi.
