Lachlan Murdoch Secures Media Empire, Preserving Conservative Legacy

The long-simmering succession battle within Rupert Murdoch’s conservative media empire has reached a resolution, ensuring that Lachlan Murdoch will assume full control of the family trust and continue to steer the political direction of key properties such as Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Post. The agreement, announced on Monday, marks the end of a years-long legal dispute over the future of the family-owned media conglomerate and the culmination of a high-stakes struggle between Murdoch and his eldest children over control of their father’s legacy [2].

Under the terms of the settlement, Lachlan Murdoch will now hold voting rights to a newly formed trust that includes his half-sisters, Grace and Chloe Murdoch, who are the daughters of Rupert Murdoch and his ex-wife, Wendi Deng Murdoch. The new trust will consolidate the Murdoch family’s ownership in both News Corp and Fox Corp, giving Lachlan Murdoch sole authority to make editorial and strategic decisions [4]. The deal also includes the formation of separate trusts for Lachlan’s three older siblings—Prue MacLeod, Elizabeth Murdoch, and James Murdoch—who will no longer be beneficiaries of the family trust and will lose their influence over the media companies’ editorial direction [2].

As part of the settlement, these siblings will receive cash distributions from the sale of approximately 14.2 million shares of News Corp and 16.9 million shares of Fox Corp. This will result in each of them receiving close to half a billion dollars, and, according to some reports, the total value of their settlements—including loans and other financial arrangements—could reach about $1.1 billion per sibling [3]. They will also be required to divest all remaining personal shares in the two companies and be subject to long-term standstill agreements preventing them from acquiring additional shares or exerting influence over corporate decisions [3].

This resolution comes after a protracted legal battle that unfolded largely in the privacy of Nevada courts, where family trust disputes are often shielded from public view. The conflict began when Rupert Murdoch, now 94, attempted to restructure the family trust to favor Lachlan over his other children, a move that a Nevada court ultimately rejected in December 2023, ruling that the effort had been made in “bad faith” [2]. The outcome of the settlement is seen as a strategic victory for Lachlan, who has been portrayed as the most politically conservative of the family’s heirs and whose leadership style has aligned closely with the right-leaning editorial policies of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal [2].

The resolution also ends any possibility of a shift in the conservative orientation of the media properties, which had become a central point of contention in the family dispute. James Murdoch, in particular, had publicly distanced himself from the family business in recent years, citing disagreements over editorial content [4]. The settlement now ensures that the editorial direction of the media empire will remain consistent with the views of Lachlan Murdoch and Rupert Murdoch.

The deal was described as a “mutual resolution of the legal proceedings” by both News Corp and Fox Corp in their statements, with each company reiterating their commitment to Lachlan’s leadership in guiding the companies’ future. Rupert Murdoch, who retains the title of Chairman Emeritus, will no longer be actively involved in decision-making, leaving Lachlan to oversee the continued operation of one of the most influential conservative media empires in the world [3].

The resolution of the Murdoch succession battle has drawn comparisons to the HBO series Succession, which dramatized the power struggles within a fictional media dynasty. Unlike the fictional storyline, however, the real-life resolution has preserved the conservative editorial direction of the empire and secured Lachlan’s position as the sole heir. The settlement, while financially significant for the exiting siblings, ensures the long-term stability of the Murdoch media holdings and cements Lachlan’s role as the next generation’s steward of the family legacy [4].

Source:

[1] title1 (url1)

[2] Murdochs reach deal in succession battle over media empire (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn825x71g4do)

[3] Lachlan Wins Murdoch Succession War as Siblings Take ... (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/lachlan-murdoch-succession-major-buyouts-fox-news-corp-1236365350/)

[4] Murdoch Settlement Stunner: Lachlan's Status Reaffirmed ... (https://deadline.com/2025/09/murdoch-settlement-stunner-fox-news-nevada-james-elisabeth-lachlan-1236512517/)