How Rupert Murdoch's struggle to wrest control from his children became a real-life courtroom thriller in the style of “Succession”

What's wrong with the Murdochs?

The question of who will take over Murdoch's vast conservative media empire has resurfaced due to a court case that began on September 16 in Reno, Nevada. Murdoch, 93, has six children from three of his five marriages. His eldest child, Prudence, is from his first marriage, while Lachlan, Elisabeth and James are from his second marriage. Murdoch also has two daughters, Grace and Chloe, from his third marriage to businesswoman Wendi Deng.

Murdoch owns about 40 percent of the voting rights in Fox Corp. and News Corp. When he stepped down from the boards of both a year ago, his eldest son Lachlan – CEO of Fox and chairman of News Corp. – appeared to emerge victorious in a sibling dispute over who should take over their father's business. But a family trust stipulated that after Murdoch's death, voting rights should be divided equally among his four eldest children, with each child receiving one vote – a condition that Murdoch and his second wife agreed to when they divorced. All six of his children were to receive an equal share from the trust.

However, Murdoch is trying to change the trust to expand Lachlan's voting rights and give him sole control of the companies. Lachlan's eldest siblings – Prudence, Elisabeth and James – have challenged the changes in a Nevada probate court, which oversees the legal procedures surrounding the transfer of property after a person's death, in an effort to keep the trust unchanged. The outcome could determine the future of the family empire.

How has this drama developed so far?

The Nevada estate administrator ruled in June that Murdoch could make the changes as long as he did so in good faith and in the best interests of his heirs. Murdoch argued that the move would benefit his children because it would prevent Lachlan's siblings from making Fox News more politically moderate and damaging its value as a conservative news channel. Prudence, Elisabeth and James have taken legal advice from each other, arguing that the changes would violate the original terms of the trust and claiming their father was trying to unfairly disenfranchise them.

Although Nevada is considered a popular location for managing family foundations because there are no income or inheritance taxes and data protection is largely guaranteed, the case will also cast a bad light on the Murdoch family and its internal processes. Any leak of information about court proceedings or documents will undoubtedly lead to even more intrigue surrounding the family.

What is it about?

Fox News is the most-watched cable news channel in the U.S. and one of the crown jewels of Murdoch's empire. In a tough media landscape marked by layoffs and cable TV shutdowns, Fox has not invested heavily in a streaming service to compete with Netflix. Instead, Fox focuses on news and sports and live events, which put it in a better position than companies like Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., which have had to make huge investments to build streaming platforms and take billions of dollars in write-downs on their traditional cable holdings. News Corp.'s holdings like the Wall Street Journal and REA, an online real estate company in Australia, have also thrived despite the shift to digital advertising.

What are some possible outcomes?

If the probate court allows Murdoch to hand over control to Lachlan, Fox News will likely remain the most powerful conservative news network in the U.S. Should Lachlan's three siblings win their case and gain more control, Lachlan's role would likely change after their father's death. The children could push the network into new, more moderate territory and drastically change the media landscape — or they could even try to sell the family businesses.

After hearing arguments, the probate court will make a recommendation – essentially the judge's opinion of what should happen to the trust. The losing party can appeal within 14 days, which sends the case to the county probate judge. That judge can either overturn the previous judge's recommendation and declare it wrong, or uphold it. Either party could then appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.

What is Murdoch's legacy?

Born in Australia to a newspaper owner, Murdoch built a vast network of media companies, television networks and entertainment studios in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. He has a net worth of $10.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Murdoch's business dealings were legendary, such as his sale of 21st Century Fox's entertainment businesses to Walt Disney Co. for $71.3 billion in 2019.

Murdoch's rise to power was not without controversy. In the UK, Murdoch's tabloids, including the now-defunct News of the World, were found to have illegally tapped phones of celebrities, crime victims and members of the British royal family in the early 2000s. Fox News faced a series of sexual harassment scandals in the 2010s that led to the exodus of top talent and executives, including Fox News chief Roger Ailes. Criticised for deepening political divisions in the US, Fox agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems a $787.5 million defamation settlement after the lawsuit alleged the broadcaster falsely reported that the company's voting machines were rigged to sway the 2020 election in favour of President Joe Biden. In a statement about the settlement, Fox said: “We acknowledge the court's rulings that certain allegations about Dominion are false.”

Where do Murdoch’s children stand?

Lachlan was earmarked as an early successor to Murdoch and was trained for various roles in the family empire. However, after clashing with Ailes and seeing his father siding with the Fox News boss, Lachlan stepped down from his executive post and devoted himself to various business ventures in Australia for nearly a decade. He eventually returned to his father's service, becoming chairman of News Corp. and executive chairman and CEO of Fox.

In Lachlan's absence, James took his brother's place as Murdoch's potential successor. Like his brother, he worked in several of his father's companies, including as chairman of the newspaper group that owned the tabloids implicated in the wiretapping scandal. After the wiretapping scandals came to light, James resigned in 2011. In 2015, he became co-CEO of 21st Century Fox, but his tenure ended after the company was sold to Disney. James, who donated $615,000 to Biden's 2020 campaign and campaigned for climate change alongside his wife Kathryn, resigned from News Corp.'s board that same year, saying he disagreed with the editorial content of the company's news outlets.

Like James, Elisabeth has not worked in the Murdoch empire for more than a decade, while Prudence has held several senior positions in her father's companies. Like James, Elisabeth and Prudence are generally considered more politically liberal than their father and Lachlan, but are less outspoken in their beliefs than James.

Lachlan, who describes himself as a libertarian, shares many of his father's views. When Rupert Murdoch announced his retirement as chairman of Fox and News Corp. in 2023, he stressed that he and Lachlan see the world the same way and intend to continue fighting the culture war. In a letter to staff, Rupert wrote, “My father was a firm believer in freedom, and Lachlan is absolutely committed to that cause.”