Rupert Murdoch’s latest legal dispute is with his kids

The heir-raising battle continues

7/26/24 10:01AM

The Murdochs are, once again, doing absolutely nothing to discourage the Succession comparisons…

On Wednesday, the NYT revealed that billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch has been embroiled in a secret legal battle with 3 of his children since late 2023 over the political future of his sprawling news and TV empire.

According to a previously sealed court document, voting control in the event of the 93-year-old’s passing is the issue at the heart of the matter. Per the current terms of the Murdoch family trust, voting powers at Fox Corp. and News Corp. would be distributed among his 4 oldest children — Rupert wants to change that by giving his son Lachlan (the eldest boy) sole power, reportedly in an effort to maintain the conservative leanings of his many vastly influential media properties.

The Empire, unpacked

Murdoch constructed his portfolio over the course of 7 decades, building on a string of local Australian newspapers with several acquisitions in the British (The News of the World, The Sun) and American (The New York Post, WSJ) media markets, before buying 20th Century Fox in 1985. Cut to present day, and Rupert Murdoch is worth ~$20 billion, per Forbes estimates, with Fox Corp. and News Corp. combining to bring in almost $25 billion in revenue last year.

A trial to determine whether Rupert is acting in good faith by edging some of his children out, and therefore should be able to amend the trust, is expected to play out in September — presumably with many more eyes on the matter, but none more so than the three Murdochs who’ve formed a united legal front against their father.

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