Murdochs resolve succession dispute with multibillion-dollar deal favouring Lachlan

Billionaires

By Antonio Pequeño IV

Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of billionaire News Corp. and Fox Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch, will gain control of his family’s media business, according to a statement, ending a years-long succession saga with a multibillion-dollar deal.

The dispute over the Murdoch’s family trust intensified last year, with family patriarch and billionaire Rupert Murdoch seeking to give control to Lachlan, his eldest son. — Rupert Murdoch (L), and Lachlan Murdoch, co-executive chairmen of 21st Century Fox. Image: Getty

Key Takeaways

Rupert and Lachlan agreed to a settlement with Lachlan’s siblings, Prudence, Elisabeth and James, giving Lachlan control of the family trust that includes controlling interests in Fox Corp. and News Corp., the latter of which is the publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
Prudence, Elisabeth and James will no longer be beneficiaries of the trust, according to a Fox Corp. statement, and will receive about $1.4 billion each, according to Bloomberg, which based the figure on Monday share prices of Fox and News Corp.
The settlement is valued at $3.3 billion, The New York Times reported, citing an unnamed person familiar with the negotiations.
The current trust will sell 16.9 million Class B Fox shares and 14.2 million Class B News Corp. shares to fund the settlements, and will be dissolved.
A new trust for Lachlan will expire in 2050, ensuring Lachlan’s control of the media empire until that year, according to the statement.

Forbes Valuation

We estimate Rupert and his family’s net worth at $24.4 billion as of Monday, up from $19.5 billion in 2024.

Key Background

Rupert’s initial succession plan involved dividing control of his media empire to his four eldest children. That changed in 2023 when Rupert sought to give Lachlan full control over the companies, provoking a lawsuit from Prudence, Elisabeth and James in 2024. Rupert’s attempted succession change failed in court as Lachlan’s siblings aimed to separate themselves from the conservative media empire that held politics they disagreed with. Settlement negotiations began early this year and details of the settlement were finalised late last week, the Times reported.

This is a developing story. More to come.

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