Rupert Murdoch’s son will take over the family’s media empire when he dies, putting an end to a Succession-style battle for power.
In a $3.3 billion (£2.4 billion) agreement, 54-year-old Lachlan will take control of several prestigious publications such as The Sun, The Times, The Sunday Times, and Talk TV in the UK, along with Fox News, The New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal in the US.
His three oldest siblings Prue, Liz and James will receive $1.1bn (£800m) for all their shares in the empire, The New York Times reports.
This follows months after Lachlan and his father’s ambitious effort to remove the trio from the Murdoch family’s irrevocable trust, a strategy that did not succeed but ultimately paved the way for negotiations.
Rupert, 94, had reportedly dubbed this plan to tip the scales in favour of his eldest son ‘Project Harmony’, but it caused a major rift in the clan.
The breakthrough achieved on Monday appears to resolve ongoing legal disputes with the establishment of a new family trust. This trust will include Lachlan and his two younger sisters, Grace, 23, and Chloe, 22, daughters whom Rupert had during his marriage with Wendi Deng.
This trust will guarantee the controlling stake in Murdoch’s main two media companies, Fox Corporation and News Corp.
Lachlan has essentially been at the helm of the family enterprise for several years, and the newly reached agreement ensures his control will continue at least until 2050, by which time he will be 79.
Rupert Murdoch’s son Lachlan (pictured) will take over the family’s media empire when he dies, putting an end to a Succession-style battle for power
In a $3.3 billion (£2.4 billion) agreement, Lachlan (pictured with his wife Sarah) will take control of several prestigious publications such as The Sun, The Times, The Sunday Times, and Talk TV in the UK, along with Fox News, The New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal in the US.
This follows months after Lachlan and his father’s ambitious effort, referred to as ‘Project Harmony’, to remove the trio from the Murdoch family’s irrevocable trust, a strategy that did not succeed.
As for his siblings, they have long desired a break from a news empire they view as too conservative, and are receiving far heftier shares than their brother had previously been willing to pay.
Rupert, who created a media empire out of one Australian newspaper, was the inspiration for the hit TV series Succession.
Like the fictional version, this real-life fight pitted the children of the powerful patriarch against each other for who should be the face and the voice of the empire after the old man dies.
Rupert had long intended that his children inherit the empire, and jointly decide its direction, handing out equal control after his death to his four oldest children after he divorced his second wife, Anna Torv, in 1999.
Their eldest daughter, Prudence, has had little involvement in the family business, but at various times the other three – Lachlan, James and Elisabeth – have all been considered as successors.
In recent years though, Murdoch Senior had reportedly grown concerned Fox News – the crown jewel of the collection – may drift from its lucrative right-wing moorings after his death, to reflect the more centrist views of James and Elisabeth.
Rupert, who created a media empire out of one Australian newspaper, was the inspiration for the hit TV series Succession (pictured). Like the fictional version, this real-life fight pitted the children of the powerful patriarch against each other
Rupert’s eldest daughter, Prudence (left), has had little involvement in the family business, but at various times the other three – Lachlan, James and Elisabeth (right) – have all been considered as successors
In recent years, Murdoch Senior had reportedly grown concerned Fox News may drift from its lucrative right-wing moorings after his death, to reflect the more centrist views of James (pictured with Rupert and Lachlan) and Elisabeth
He had therefore sought to designate Lachlan – who currently heads Fox News and News Corp – as the controlling player in the wider business, despite effectively removing his power to name a successor in the 1999 trust agreement.
Rupert and Lachlan squared off against their family members in a secret legal battle in the desert city of Reno in September.
They sought to prove in sealed testimony that the latter’s more right-wing stance would better ensure the financial security of the businesses, but commissioner Edmund Gorman, in a sealed document, was not swayed.
A buyout still seemed like the likeliest outcome and, after a further year of intense negotiations, Lachlan finally sealed his spot as successor of the Murdoch empire.
