Rupert Murdochs' Settlement Leaves Favoured Son Atop Family Media Empire

Rupert Murdoch and his children settled litigation over a trust that controls two influential public companies, ensuring that Fox News keeps its conservative slant and favored son Lachlan Murdoch remains in charge of the globe-spanning media empire.

Under the agreement announced Monday, three of Murdoch's children - Prudence, Elisabeth and James - will cease to be beneficiaries of the trust that controls Fox Corp. and News Corp. Instead, they'll get $1.1 billion each, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The settlement is a big victory for Murdoch, 94, and his eldest son, assuring the empire that includes the Wall Street Journal, HarperCollins book publishing and the Fox broadcast network will stay under Lachlan's control, possibly for decades to come.  

The legal battle began in 2023, when Rupert first sought to change the family trust and put Lachlan, 54, in charge. His estate planning previously established that his four eldest children would take control of the trust upon his death, with each getting one vote. That set up a scenario where the three who no longer work at the companies could oust Lachlan.

The change caught James, Elisabeth and Prudence by surprise, and they joined forces to challenge their father's action in a Nevada probate court, where the trust was filed. Initially, the court ruled that Murdoch could amend the document if he was acting in good faith.

But a later ruling reversed that finding, and most recently the case was on appeal.

Murdoch holds a 40% voting stake in both companies. Under the deal announced Monday, a new family company controlled by Lachlan will have a 36% voting stake in Fox and 33% of News Corp. Prudence, Elisabeth and James will no longer have any interest in the two companies. 

News Corp. and Fox will sell shares worth about $1.4 billion on behalf of the three children leaving the trust. A new family owned company led by Lachlan will purchase additional stock from them, partly with a $1 billion loan. Murdoch's two youngest children will be co-owners of the new company.

Both Fox and News Corp. have thrived in recent years. 

Fox News, the most-watched US cable channel, has gotten a ratings lift from President Donald Trump's 2024 election, attracting more viewers than its combined competitors. Fox also launched a new streaming service called Fox One for news, sports and entertainment on Aug. 21. The voting shares are up 24% this year, hitting an all-time high of $57.01 on Monday.

Even though the newspaper industry has been hard hit by declines in print advertising and readership, the Wall Street Journal has successfully adapted to the digital era. News Corp. reported in its most recent earnings that the Journal increased its digital subscribers by 9% to 4.1 million during the fiscal fourth quarter.

News Corp. voting shares have gained 12% in 2025 and are close to their all-time high.

The battle for control of the family empire has been a long one, with Lachlan, James and Elisabeth all rising and falling in their father's eyes at various points in their careers. The tug of war served as the inspiration for the HBO drama Succession, about a media empire torn apart by family infighting.

In a February interview published by the Atlantic, James called his father a misogynist and said a company with a good corporate culture wouldn't try to juice ratings by lying to its audience.

Rupert's second-oldest son also said that any changes he'd make to Fox News would focus on corporate and editorial governance, not its political orientation. He said Fox News could still report from a conservative viewpoint, but refrain from spreading misinformation.

Lachlan is widely viewed as holding the same conservative political views as his father and has made some shrewd decisions while leading the companies, including the $440 million purchase of the Tubi streaming service in 2020.

He was pegged as an early successor to Murdoch and received training in different roles within the family's empire. However, after butting heads with the late Fox News chief Roger Ailes and seeing his father take Ailes' side, Lachlan resigned as an executive and engaged in various business ventures in Australia for nearly a decade.

He eventually returned to work for his father, becoming chairman of News Corp., and executive chairman and CEO of Fox.

James also worked in several of his father's companies, including as chairman of the newspaper group that owned the tabloids involved in a phone-hacking scandal. After the hackings came to light, James stepped down in 2011.

He became CEO of 21st Century Fox in 2015, but his tenure ended when Fox sold its entertainment assets to Walt Disney Co. James donated $615,000 to Biden's 2020 campaign and has supported climate causes alongside his wife Kathryn. He left the News Corp. board in 2020, citing disagreements over editorial content and strategic decisions.  

Lachlan's years haven't been scandal free. Fox agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit by voting machine maker Dominion Voting Systems Inc. over the network's 2020 election broadcasts. Fox still faces a similar $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit from voting technology company Smartmatic USA Corp.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)