Murdoch family settle real-life 'Succession' row, with eldest son to keep control of media empire

RUPERT MURDOCH’S CHILDREN have reached a settlement in the legal dispute over who will control the right-wing media mogul’s companies. 

The case pitted the 94-year-old against three of his children over who would gain the power to control News Corp and Fox Corp after his death. 

Murdoch wanted to amend a family trust created in 1999 to install his eldest son Lachlan as his successor without “interference” from his siblings Prudence, Elisabeth and James.

Lachlan, who shares his father’s political orientation, has already been running Fox for the last number of years. 

But a Nevada court blocked the effort last year, saying the media mogul and his eldest son had acted in bad faith. 

The new deal establishes a trust to replace the Murdoch Family Trust that had included all the siblings and half-siblings.

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Under the new agreement, Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch and James Murdoch will receive cash based on equity sales and cease to have holdings in either media company.

According to the Financial Times, each sibling will receive $1.1 billion to give up any claims to control of Fox in exchange for stock, which is currently valued at $3.3 billion.

The eldest daughter, Prudence, has had little involvement in the family business, but children James and Elisabeth are known as more politically centrist.

“New trusts will be established for the benefit of Lachlan Murdoch, Grace Murdoch and Chloe Murdoch,” said a press release that identified Rupert and his two half-sisters as “remaining beneficiary trusts.”

“The departing beneficiaries” will “cease to be beneficiaries in any trust holding shares in News Corp or Fox Corporation”, the statement read. 

The legal case reportedly began when the Murdoch children watched an episode of HBO drama Succession, which sees the patriarch, played by Scottish actor Brian Cox, leave family and business in chaos after his death.

The episode led Elisabeth’s representative to the trust to write a “‘Succession’ memo” to prevent a repeat in real life, according to the New York Times.

With reporting from Press Association

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