A years-long inheritance dispute has ended within the Murdoch family, which owns Fox News, known as the real-life equivalent of the series Succession. The new owner of the media empire, which includes hundreds of newspapers and TV channels, is Rupert Murdoch's eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, who is among the world's richest 1 percent. The real-life inspiration for the series "Succession," which depicts family power struggles, has finally settled the inheritance dispute within the media empire founded by Rupert Murdoch, owner of hundreds of media outlets including Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and The Sun.
His eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, who resembles Kendall Roy, played by Jeremy Strong in the series, has taken over the management of the media giant. According to an agreement between the siblings, James, Elisabeth, and Prudence Murdoch will sell their shares in Fox and News Corp. within six months and liquidate them. Each is expected to receive approximately $1.1 billion from this deal. Additionally, a new family foundation worth $3.3 billion will be established for Rupert Murdoch's younger children from Wendi Deng, Grace and Chloe. This foundation will own 36% of Fox and 33% of News Corp.
So who is Lachlan Murdoch, one of the world's most powerful media moguls and the new owner of News Corp., which includes hundreds of national and international media outlets including Fox News and the Wall Street Journal?
Known for his conservative leanings, Lachlan Murdoch is one of Rupert Murdoch's three children with his second wife, Scottish journalist Anna Maria de Peyster.
Born in London, Lachlan was educated at prestigious American schools and graduated from Princeton University in 1994. His dissertation was on German philosophy. After leaving Princeton, he spent most of his career in Australia, managing his father's businesses.
Lachlan was once considered the natural heir to the News Corp business. However, following a disagreement with his former Fox News boss, Roger Family, he left the company in 2005. Australian journalist Paddy Manning, author of Lachlan Murdoch's biography "The Successor," explains that Lachlan did not receive the support he expected from his father, Rupert Murdoch, in this dispute. "When Lachlan left the country," Manning says, "he was determined never to return to his father's company." Lachlan later founded an investment firm in Australia, which invested in various media and marketing companies, including the Indian Premier League cricket team. However, after some of his investments suffered significant losses, he returned to his father's empire in 2014.
In 2015, Rupert Murdoch appointed his eldest son, Lachlan, and his brother, James, as co-chairmen of the 21st Century Fox film studio. According to a 2017 New York Times article, Lachlan and James sought to transform the culture of their father's company, introducing greater transparency and diversity in the workplace. However, the film studio was sold to Disney in 2019, and James Murdoch resigned from the News Corp board the following year. In his resignation letter, he stated that he was leaving due to "disagreements regarding certain editorial content." It was revealed that Murdoch, contrary to his family's conservative views, had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the campaign of former Democratic President Joe Biden.
Lachlan Murdoch's initial appearance as his father's heir apparent dates back to his time as a manager in the late 1990s. After returning from Australia, he held senior positions within the media empire. Known to be more conservative than his siblings, Lachlan was considered the perfect candidate for the new chairman of Fox News, which has aligned itself with the right-wing Republican Party since its inception in the US. Indeed, differences in ideology and political views had previously caused divisions within the family. Rubert Murdoch, fearing his children would not get along, wanted to hand control of the media empire to Lachlan. However, a Nevada court rejected Rupert Murdoch's attempt.
Although Fox News supports the Republican Party, Lachlan Murdoch has had a volatile relationship with US President-elect Donald Trump. Lachlan Murdoch hasn't made many public statements about Trump or his own policies, but biographer Paddy Manning says it's "no secret" that he and his father are not big Trump fans. It's also alleged that Lachlan Murdoch was responsible for Fox News' decision not to broadcast live coverage of the January 6, 2021, storming of the US Capitol by Trump supporters following the 2020 presidential election, which Donald Trump lost.
Lachlan Murdoch is known to be among the world's richest 1 percent. The Australian Financial Review ranked him 35th on its list of the country's richest people, with a combined net worth of A$3.75 billion (approximately $2.4 billion). Indeed, an opening scene in The Succession actually hints at the wealth of Lachlan Murdoch and his wife: The couple cruises on a luxury yacht in Sydney Harbour while awaiting delivery of a boat five times more expensive than their own. Among other properties, the couple also owns the $150 million Chartwell Estate in Los Angeles.
