Lachlan Murdoch, the 54-year-old eldest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has solidified his control over the family's vast media empire following a $3.3 billion family settlement announced Monday.
The deal ends a years-long succession battle that pitted Lachlan and his father against three of Rupert's older children—Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch, and James Murdoch—who had equal voting rights under the original family trust established in 1999. The agreement dissolves that trust and creates a new one benefiting Lachlan and his younger half-sisters, Grace and Chloe Murdoch (from Rupert's marriage to Wendi Deng), granting Lachlan sole voting control over the family's stakes until at least 2050.
The siblings received approximately $1.1 billion each from the sale of about 16.9 million Fox Corp Class B shares and 14.2 million News Corp Class B shares, diluting the family's overall ownership but ensuring Lachlan's unchallenged leadership.
The Murdoch media empire, built by Rupert since the 1950s from a single Australian newspaper, spans television, publishing, film, sports, and digital streaming. It is primarily divided into two publicly traded companies:
Fox Corporation (focused on entertainment, news, and sports, with fiscal 2024 revenues of nearly $8.5 billion and net income of $648 million) and News Corp (emphasizing newspapers, books, and digital services).
Here's a breakdown of key assets:
Fox Corporation Assets
- Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network: The crown jewels, delivering conservative commentary and news; Fox News is the top-rated U.S. cable news network, driving much of the company's profitability.
- Fox Broadcasting Company: Airs primetime shows, sports (NFL, MLB), and events like the Super Bowl.
- Fox Sports: Includes FS1, FS2, and regional sports networks; holds rights to major leagues like the NFL, MLB, and college sports.
- Fox Television Stations: Owns 18 local stations in major U.S. markets (e.g., WNYW in New York, KTTV in Los Angeles).
- Tubi: A free, ad-supported streaming service with movies and TV shows, boasting over 80 million monthly active users.
- Other Entertainment: Includes production arms like Fox Alternative Entertainment (reality TV) and remnants of 20th Century Fox (post-Disney sale in 2019, which included film studios and IP like Avatar and X-Men).
News Corp Assets Newspapers:
- The Wall Street Journal (U.S. business news flagship).
- New York Post (tabloid with conservative editorial stance).
- The Times and The Sunday Times (UK's leading conservative papers).
- The Australian and Courier Mail (major Australian dailies).
- News International (UK tabloids like The Sun).
- Book Publishing: HarperCollins, a global powerhouse publishing authors like J.R.R. Tolkien, Barack Obama, and James Patterson.
- Digital and Information Services: Includes Realtor.com (real estate), Move, Inc. (home services), and Dow Jones (financial data, indices like the Dow Jones Industrial Average).
- News and Information: Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva (business intelligence), and MarketWatch.