After years, if not decades, of rivalries, backstabbing, and brutal internal disputes, the magnate Rupert Murdoch has managed to solve the nearly impossible puzzle of his succession. In a highly complex business and family agreement, which involves dismantling the previous trust and paying 1.1 billion dollars to three of his children as compensation for relinquishing their voting rights and control aspirations, the Australian businessman has gotten his way and will be able to leave his media empire in the hands of his youngest offspring, Lachlan.
This way, Murdoch ensures ideological continuity, protecting what he has referred to as "the conservative voice in the English-speaking world." Lachlan is the most conservative of his children, the most aligned with right-wing parties on three continents. He already oversees the daily operations of a group that includes major publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, or Fox TV in the US, and The Sun or The Times in the UK. He was always meant to take over the leadership once the patriarch, who is 94 years old, is no longer around. However, internal rivalries, the rise of Trumpism, and jealousy led Murdoch to change the script.
In the summer of 2024, father and son, fearing that in the near future the eldest son, James, who leans more towards the left, might seek an agreement with his sisters (less involved in management and also less conservative) to overthrow Lachlan and make a profound ideological shift in the company, turned to the courts in an attempt to unilaterally modify the untouchable family trust terms. If successful, he could have deprived Prue, Liz, and James of their established rights, but the Court prevented it. However, the maneuver forced the parties to sit down and negotiate an agreement valued at 3.3 billion. A significant amount of money, but only a small part of the total inheritance.
According to the company, which includes Fox Corporation and News Corp, in a statement, the three 'affected' individuals will receive that compensation for all their shares, which were previously locked in the family trust until 2030, potentially allowing them to overthrow the current leader if the father had passed away before that date.
That fund disappears, and a new one valid until 2050 will be created, in which James will not participate, as he has distanced himself the most in recent years, rejecting the group's editorial line and, above all, that of Fox News, closely tied to Donald Trump and which had to pay hundreds of millions in fines after the 2020 elections for spreading conspiracy theories about the company responsible for electronic voting in the elections won by Joe Biden.
In a profile published last year in The Atlantic magazine, reminiscent of HBO's series "Succession," inspired by this family, James criticized his brother and father, calling the latter a misogynist and blaming him for allowing his media outlets to lie and deceive deliberately. With 3.3 billion dollars, the battle has come to an end. At least until 2050.