A years-long succession battle within Rupert Murdoch's conservative media empire has drawn to a close, with his son Lachlan set to control the news group.
The deal, which the family announced on Monday, will ensure the ongoing conservative leaning of Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Post after 94-year-old Rupert's death.
Under the agreement, Lachlan will control a new trust while siblings Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch, and James Murdoch will cease being beneficiaries of any trust with shares in Fox or News Corp.
This development follows years of tension between the media mogul and three of his children over the future of the family-owned newspapers and television networks.
The Murdoch family's internal turmoil served as inspiration for the hit television drama Succession. The deal announced on Monday ends all litigation over the family's trust.
Lachlan's more politically moderate oldest siblings are poised to sell their holdings in Fox and News Corp in the coming months, and will be named beneficiaries of a new trust, which will receive cash from the sale of about 14.2 million shares of News Corp and 16.9 million shares of Fox Corp.
The sale will add to the siblings' existing inheritance but will prevent them from influencing the political bent of the family’s media conglomerate.
James has distanced himself from the family business in recent years due to disagreements over editorial content, particularly on climate change and reporting related to the 2020 US election.
Lachlan was already chair of News Corp, which oversees significant publications, and is seen as the most politically conservative among Rupert's oldest children.
Matthew Ricketson, a professor of communication at Deakin University, stated that the resolution of this bitter legal battle highlights family control over a vast empire that Rupert has characterized as a 'family business'.
Despite the resolution, one can infer that internal relations may remain strained, having witnessed the fractious nature of the power struggle.
News Corp emphasized that Lachlan's ongoing leadership is essential for navigating the strategy and success of the company.
Additionally, the youngest Murdoch children, Chloe and Grace, are now also included as beneficiaries in the new family trust, further indicating the structural changes within the family’s business hierarchy.
This entire progression saw initial resistance from Rupert, who aimed to amend the family trust to ensure its inheritance fell solely to Lachlan instead of all his oldest children. However, a court rejected this attempt on grounds of 'bad faith'.
Monday's agreement represents a mutual resolution to ongoing legal disputes, allowing the Murdoch empire to transition into a new phase under Lachlan's stewardship.
