Murdoch Engaged In Legal Battle With His Kids Over Succession

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is engaged in a legal battle against three of his children to ensure that his eldest son and chosen successor, Lachlan Murdoch, will remain in charge of his media empire, the New York Times reported and Reuters reported.

Rupert reportedly wants Lachlan to preserve the rightist bias of his companies and has filed a petition to amend the irrevocable family trust, hoping to grant exclusive control to his eldest son and chosen successor Lachlan. I Photo: Hudson Institute Flickr

Murdoch is trying to expand Lachlan Murdoch’s voting power in the Murdoch Family Trust to secure a majority and ensure that he cannot be challenged by the siblings, the report said, citing a sealed court document.

Lachlan is chairman of News Corp, whose publications include the Wall Street Journal and the Sun, and chair and chief executive of Fox Corp.

The trust currently has eight votes: four controlled by Murdoch, and the remaining four controlled by the four children from his first two marriages, James, Elisabeth, and Prudence, while his youngest daughters, Chloe and Grace, from his third wife, Wendi Deng, do not have voting rights in the trust.

Reporting for CNN, Jessie Yeung wrote that Rupert wants Lachlan to preserve the rightist bias of his companies and has filed a petition to amend the irrevocable family trust, hoping to grant exclusive control to his eldest son and chosen successor Lachlan.

He has been closely aligned with his father for years and took over as chair of Fox Corp. and News Corp. last September.

In response, the other three siblings have joined together to mount a legal challenge, arguing that their father is not acting in good faith and violating the spirit in which the trust was created.

The trial is expected to begin in September. The Guardian and Associated Press (AP) also reported about the family drama.