Rupert Murdoch has launched a Succession-style attack on three of his own children to prevent them softening the Right-wing politics of his media empire on issues such as climate change.
The 93-year-old is attempting to change the terms of the Murdoch family trust to ensure that sole control of his TV and newspaper businesses is handed to his eldest son, Lachlan, after his death.
Such a move would wrestle influence away from his other children – James, Elisabeth and Prudence – and has triggered a legal dispute among the family, according to private court filings seen by The New York Times.
Lachlan has been positioned as his father’s heir apparent in recent years after assuming the role of chief executive and chairman of TV group Fox Corporation in 2019 and chairman of News Corp last year. News Corp controls newspapers in the US, UK and Australia, including The Times, The Sun and The Wall Street Journal.
The 52-year-old is viewed as the most conservative of Murdoch’s children and is closely aligned to the media mogul’s politics.
James and Elisabeth were both seen as potential candidates to take over the running of the media empire at various times. However, both have drifted away from the family business over the years.
Elisabeth, 55, left her father’s TV business BSkyB – now known as Sky – in 2000 and today runs a film studio. James, 51, was an executive at Fox until 2019.
Both have more liberal politics than their father.
James and his wife issued a rare public statement criticising his father’s newspapers and TV channels for the way they covered climate change in 2020, while the younger son has accused US media of “propagating lies” in the lead-up to the storming of the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters on Jan 6 2021.
Elisabeth also criticised her father’s media empire in the wake of the UK phone-hacking scandal and hosted a fundraiser for Barack Obama in 2008.
The legal dispute echoes the power struggles depicted in Succession, the TV drama series that was closely inspired by the life of the Murdochs as well as other media dynasties. It suggests Mr Murdoch is trying to secure his empire’s Right-wing credentials after his death.
As it stands, the family trust is said to hand equal control to all four of Mr Murdoch’s eldest children in the event of his death.
However, lawyers for the patriarch are arguing that a “lack of consensus” among the children “would impact the strategic direction at both companies including a potential reorientation of editorial policy and content”.
The family trust is “irrevocable”. But it is believed to contain a provision allowing for changes to be done in good faith if they have the sole purpose of benefiting all of the beneficiaries.
Mr Mudoch sought to change the terms late last year, according to The New York Times. And last month, the Nevada probate commissioner reportedly ruled that he could amend the trust if he could show he was acting in good faith and for the sole benefit of his heirs. Nevada is a popular US state for family trusts because of favourable laws and privacy protections.
Mr Murdoch’s lawyers have reportedly said they are trying to protect James, Elisabeth and Prudence, arguing that divided control could undermine the health of the business and damage their inheritance.
The issue will go to trial in September to determine whether Mr Murdoch is indeed acting in good faith.
Under the terms of current trust, Mr Murdoch cannot be outvoted, according to The New York Times. The patriarch reportedly wants to establish a similar arrangement for Lachlan. It is understood that the changes wouldn’t affect ownership stakes.
A spokesman for News UK declined to comment. A representative of the Murdoch family was contacted for comment. Both sides declined to comment to The New York Times.
Mr Murdoch has for decades been a kingmaker in conservative politics across the English-speaking world and was pictured at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week.
The Australian-born billionaire has been married five times and has six children. He had Prudence Murdoch with his first wife, Patricia Booker, while Elisabeth, Lachlan and James were the product of his second and longest marriage, to Anna Torv. He had two children with his third wife, Wendi Deng.
The media tycoon tied the knot for the fifth time in June, wedding Moscow-born Elena Zhukova at his Californian vineyard.
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