After years of bitter wrangling inside Rupert Murdoch’s vast media empire, the family feud has reached its close. A settlement announced Monday places control of Fox Corporation and News Corp firmly in the hands of his son Lachlan, ensuring the conservative tilt of outlets such as Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post long after Rupert’s death.
The deal, years in the making, forces Rupert’s three eldest children—Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch, and James Murdoch—to relinquish their stakes. In exchange, each will walk away with roughly $1.1 billion in cash following the sale of tens of millions of shares in Fox and News Corp. They will become beneficiaries of a new trust funded by that sale, but stripped of any influence over editorial direction.
For Rupert, now 94, the outcome is costly but decisive. His chosen successor has long been Lachlan, widely regarded as the most conservative of his six children and a man whom former Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil described as a “chip off the old block.” Rupert’s deepest fear, Neil observed, was that Lachlan would one day be outvoted by his more moderate siblings. “That won’t happen now,” he said.
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The Murdoch drama, played out quietly in Nevada courtrooms but shadowed by the glare of global attention, bore uncanny resemblance to HBO’s hit drama Succession. Legal filings revealed acrimony not only over money but over politics: James Murdoch, in particular, has openly criticized Fox News for amplifying false claims about the 2020 U.S. election and for its coverage of climate change.
Matthew Ricketson, a media scholar in Melbourne, called the resolution “bitter irony.” Rupert had long insisted his empire was a family business meant to be passed to his children. “He seems to have torn apart his family in the process,” Ricketson said.
Still, the settlement leaves no ambiguity. Lachlan, who has chaired News Corp since 2023, now controls the machinery of a conservative media powerhouse. Rupert remains chairman emeritus, his voice still resonant. But the transfer of power is clear.
For Prudence, Elisabeth, and James, the payoff brings financial security and a final exit. For Lachlan, it is victory—one that cements his grip on a global network of influence, though at the cost of family unity.