According to documents reviewed by the New York Times, Rupert Murdoch is involved in a confidential legal dispute that pits the aging mogul and his successor, Lachlan Murdoch, against three of his other children.
The dispute sees the 93-year-old working to ensure Lachlan Murdoch’s control over the family’s media empire by altering the terms of a family trust. This change would exclude younger brother James, sister Elisabeth, and half-sister Prudence from having a say in the company’s management.
The trust currently designates Murdoch’s four eldest children to inherit control of his extensive media empire upon his death. However, sealed court documents obtained by the New York Times reveal that Murdoch is contending that Lachlan should have exclusive control over the family’s investments, including Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, The Australian, as well as the Sun and the Times in the UK. It is being reported that Murdoch’s children were blindsided by the move.
The Times reports that a Nevada probate commissioner recently ruled that the family’s irrevocable trust could be modified if Murdoch can show he is acting in good faith to safeguard the trust’s value. If a resolution is not reached beforehand, the fight for Fox’s future could go to court in September, just two months before the US election.
Lachlan Murdoch is seen as the most conservative of Murdoch’s children, with his father asserting that Lachlan’s political stance is vital for maintaining the value of the right-leaning media properties. Last November, Lachlan assumed the role of chair of News Corporation and Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, following his father’s announcement that he was stepping down after a seven-decade career as one of the most influential—and contentious—media moguls in history.
On Australian soil, Sky News commentator Andrew Bolt has expressed his hesitation with the current arrangement, threatening to resign if James Murdoch were to take over the media empire. “James could sack me if he did take over, but he wouldn’t need to. I wouldn’t be the only one who wouldn’t work for him,” Bolt said. “It’s a values thing. A freedom thing. I don’t know if he gets that”.
James resigned from the News Corp board in 2020 amid editorial differences. The Sky News host denied consulting Lachlan over his comments and questioned why James would seek to take over a media business that “he hates and would destroy”.
“So, what on earth is James fighting for?” he said. “Can’t imagine the other shareholders would like that”.
Bolt implored James to see reason and leave the media brand alone. “Your father is right. Keeping Lachlan in the job, stopping you, is in your interests too, which is what Rupert Murdoch will have to prove in this case”.
