Lachlan Murdoch is supposed to be enjoying the 60th birthday celebration of The Australian this week. His father Rupert founded the paper in 1964 to fulfill his father Sir Keith Murdoch’s dream that Australia would one day have its own national newspaper.
But instead of that dynastic vision being feted in their homeland, the Murdochs are dealing with the aftermath of a bombshell revealing that they are a deeply fractured family—and showing just how far Rupert, 93, will go to protect his idea of dynasty. In this case, from beyond the grave.
I’m writing a biography of Rupert for Hachette’s Grand Central Publishing and got wind a few weeks ago that there was a kerfuffle over the family trust in the run-up to Rupert’s marriage—his fifth—to the Russian-born molecular biologist Elena Zhukova. I had presumed it had something to do with the arrival of a new wife.
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Another source had told me that only Lachlan had attended the wedding in early June at the Moraga vineyard in Bel Air, California, which seemed strange. The mysterious Israeli-American investor Vivi Nevo was there, so was the Patriots owner Bob Kraft and News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson. But Murdoch's daughters Elisabeth and Prudence were not. (Rupert and his younger son James have been estranged for some time.)
But on Wednesday, New York Times reporters Jim Rutenberg and Jonathan Mahler revealed the bombshell which exploded that family trust kerfuffle into the open: A secret court case that pits Rupert against Prudence, Elisabeth and James. Prudence is the only child from his marriage to first wife Patricia. He had Elisabeth, Lachlan and James with second wife, Anna. He also has Grace and Chloe from his third marriage to Wendi Deng; they have no voting stake in the family trust.
The case is Rupert’s attempt to cement Lachlan as undisputed heir and stop other children from meddling with the political leanings of Fox and News Corp after he dies. (Lachlan is CEO of Fox and Chairman of News Corp.)
Rupert’s theory goes that, once he has passed, James, Liz and Prudence will try to neutralize Fox News and break up the wider company. (Semafor reported an intriguing rumor in April that KKR-controlled Axel Springer was eyeing The Wall Street Journal, one of the jewels in the crown.) Cutting them out of power will guarantee its financial success.
Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch attend the annual Allen and Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho on July 8, 2015.
REUTERS/Mike BlakeLachlan’s siblings, “were caught completely off guard by their father’s efforts to rewrite what was supposed to be an inviolable trust and have united to stop him,” the Times reported. A trial in September set by a Nevada probate commissioner will determine whether Rupert is acting in “good faith,” in resetting the terms.
It seems a sad state of affairs to be fighting with three of your children at such a late stage in life. All the Murdoch children posed for a beautiful group photo)" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.vogue.com.au/brides/news/the-newlyweds-the-guests-the-bridesmaids-see-who-attended-rupert-murdoch-and-jerry-halls-wedding/image-gallery/f003af06ab056560eaabffd433586874__;!!LsXw!T_0Zk1REf_qzwidq8UowR-Czf82BbVon6eio8pt32HxC7jIqt08jKunuwu4FAy10Oarsob6tYeQj5YHUk8tcmczT-4nQTg$">beautiful group photo for Vogue when Rupert married Jerry Hall in London in March 2016. (Rupert famously ended that marriage by email six years later. His only true love, always, is business.)
But hints that something was happening have existed for some time.
I interviewed Lachlan for Business Insider in 2021. Even then, his intention to keep control of the company he’d been running as CEO since 2019 was clear. “It’s a terrific job. It’s one I look forward to for decades and decades into the future,” he told me over the phone from Australia.
Then there were Rupert’s references to Lachlan when the mogul announced his retirement last November. “My father firmly believed in freedom, and Lachlan is absolutely committed to the cause,” he said. “Self-serving bureaucracies are seeking to silence those who would question their provenance and purpose. Elites have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarified class.”
Was such a strongly worded comment a shot across the bow at three of his kids?
The maneuverings are not without precedent. Rupert learned a lesson he would never forget after his own father’s death: Control is everything. Sir Keith got to the top of the masthead at the Melbourne Herald and Weekly Times and tried to cobble together a handful of newspaper shareholdings to pass to his son, but they were mostly snatched away and sold off after his death. A 21-year-old Rupert was left to sort out the mess.
Now, he’s trying to make sure Lachlan doesn’t have to duke it out with family foes after he passes. From wherever the 93-year-old is going next, the masterful media mogul wants to ensure Fox and News Corp. remain aligned to his own conservative political beliefs.
Rupert may have a case that neutralizing Fox News won’t be good for the family’s fortunes. Whatever you think of the network, viewers seem to enjoy what they are selling. In a week bookended by an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s decision to abandon his campaign to remain in the White House, Fox News had a 70 percent of cable audience share in primetime, the highest in its history, and averaged five million viewers)" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://press.foxnews.com/2024/07/fox-news-channel-is-number-one-in-television-with-primetime-viewership-during-week-that-included-post-assassination-attempt-on-trump-republican-national-convention-and-president-biden-dropping-out-of__;!!LsXw!T_0Zk1REf_qzwidq8UowR-Czf82BbVon6eio8pt32HxC7jIqt08jKunuwu4FAy10Oarsob6tYeQj5YHUk8tcmcyTzi0ivA$">five million viewers for the week, according to a company press release.
The Times story is fascinating but leaves some questions unanswered. Who gave them access to sealed documents? Where is Wendi Deng in all of this? She seems to have remained on surprisingly friendly terms with her ex-husband—she had introduced Rupert to Elena Zhukova and attended the Allen & Co. billionaire mogul camp in Sun Valley this month. So did Rupert.
I tried to get hold of Anna Murdoch to see what she thought but was told she isn’t home and is instead on the yacht sailing for the summer.
I asked another contemporary of Rupert’s for his thoughts on the latest saga. He wrote back two words: “Logan Roy.”
Claire Atkinson is the author of an upcoming biography of Rupert Murdoch for Hachette imprint Grand Central Publishing. She also runs The Media Mix)" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.themediamix.co/__;!!LsXw!T_0Zk1REf_qzwidq8UowR-Czf82BbVon6eio8pt32HxC7jIqt08jKunuwu4FAy10Oarsob6tYeQj5YHUk8tcmcz0yBa7XA$">The Media Mix newsletter and podcast.
