Rupert Murdoch Fights Three Kids Over His Media Empire To Ensure It Stays Conservative After He Dies

Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch has been locked in a private legal battle with three of his children over the future of his empire.

For years, public intrigue has spread about what would happen to the Murdoch assets after Rupert’s death.

Forbes estimates show that the family’s vast empire is worth $19.5 billion.

The Murdoch family trust, which holds key voting shares in Fox Corp and News Corp, is at the center of this recent battle.

Rupert’s four eldest children – Lachlan, James, Elisabeth and Prudence Murdoch – share four votes in the trust equally.

But in late 2023, he filed a petition to amend the family trust, hoping to instead grant exclusive control to his oldest son and chosen successor, Lachlan, according to The New York Times. 

Lachlan was closely aligned with his father for years and took over as chair of Fox Corp. and News Corp. in September 2023.

The media mogul was worried that interference from his other three children – who are more politically moderate than Lachlan and their father – could affect the companies’ editorial stance.

Rupert declared in court that “only by empowering Lachlan to run the company without interference from his more politically moderate siblings can he preserve its conservative editorial bent, and thus protect its commercial value for all his heirs.”

The trust only allows changes made in good faith to benefit all heirs.

In response, the billionaire’s decision caught the other three siblings off-guard. 

They united to mount a legal challenge, asserting that Rupert was not acting in good faith and infringing on the spirit in which the trust was created.

Meanwhile, Lachlan has joined his father’s side in this secret battle.

The trial is scheduled to start in September.

In March, James and Jane Ginsburg, the children of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, replied negatively to Rupert winning the 2024 RBG Leadership Award, saying their mother would “be appalled.”

They suggested that he does not seem like someone who is “trying to create more justice.”

Rupert married his fifth wife, Elena Zhukova, on June 1. They had a small ceremony at his Bel Air, California vineyard.

Many high-powered guests, such as the New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, attended the ceremony.