The legal settlement ensures that Lachlan Murdoch will manage his vast media portfolio after the death of the 94-year-old mogul.
Released on September 9, 2025
Rupert Murdoch’s family has reached a contract to end the long-standing battle for succession over the archaic media empire.
The deal, announced by News Corp on Monday, shows that eldest son Lachlan Murdoch will take control of a vast media portfolio including Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post and The Times.
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This agreement will help ensure that Murdoch’s media properties will remain a conservative bend long after the death of the 94-year-old Patriarch.
Under the settlement, Lachlan is seen as more broadly lined up with his father’s conservative views than his brothers, and his two younger sisters, Grace and Chloe, will be beneficiaries of the trust of the new family that controls Fox Corporation and News Corp.
This transaction stipulates that the trust will remain in place until 2050.
The voting rights are “only” to Lachlan, 54, 54, who has been chairman of News Corp and CEO of FOX since his father resigned in 2023 after running his daily business.
Lachlan’s three oldest brothers, James, Elizabeth, Prudence, abandons stocks in the existing Family Trust and receives an equal split in the stock sales.
Under the agreement, the three brothers will be subject to a “long-term suspension agreement” that will acquire shares in News Corp and Fox Corporation and prohibit “taking certain other measures regarding the company.”
US media estimated the three siblings to pay around $3.3 billion.
“The News Corp board welcomes these developments and believes that leadership, vision and management by company chair Lachlan Murdoch will continue to be important to guide the company’s strategy and success,” News Corp said in a statement.
The reconciliation captivates political and media circles and thwarts the saga compared to the plot of HBO’s award-winning drama succession.
“Rupert Murdoch built a reputation for being offensive about securing what he wanted, and Lachlan Murdoch wanted to control both Fox Corporation and News,” Lynn Vincent, an associate professor at Whitman Management of Management at Syracuse University, told Al Jazeera.
“Of course, that’s what happens. Rupert Murdoch is very effective in getting what he wants.”
Vincent said management of Lachlan Murdoch’s media portfolio will ensure “business as normal” in the outlet.
“From what we know, Lachlan Murdoch’s views and values are very similar to Rupert Murdoch’s views,” she said.
“From an organizational perspective, this provides stability for Fox Corp and News Corp. This may be attractive to some stakeholders.”
Rupert Murdoch’s legal battle with succession plans broke out when the Australian-born mogul tried to change the structure of his family’s trust after his death to change the structure of his family’s trust in order to fully control his company in Lachlan.
James, Elizabeth and Prudence, along with Lachlan, were trying to inherit equal control of the corporation, but took their father to court to block the bid.
In December, the US probate court in Nevada opposed attempts to change trust, describing it as a “carefully crafted charade” designed to “consolidate” control of Lachlan Murdoch.
