Rupert Murdoch is living a real life episode of “Succession” as three of his four children fight his attempts to adjust the family trust to leave eldest son Lachlan in charge following his death.
According to a New York Times report, the 93-year-old media mogul is in conflict with children Prudence, Elisabeth, and James as he tries to adjust the trust. The report comes from a 48-page decision by a Nevada probate commissioner that was originally filed under seal before being obtained by the Times.
Murdoch is apparently worried about the more moderate-leaning views of his three other children and thinks Lachlan would best serve the conservative perspective advanced by Fox Corp. and News Corp. According to the Times, Murdoch “is arguing 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 move has pushed the three other siblings into a joint posture against their father. According to the Times, the three think Murdoch is “trying to disenfranchise them” and that the move “violates the spirit of the initial trust, enshrined in its ‘equal governance provision,’ and that it was not done in good faith.”
Currently, the Murdoch trust gives equal power to his four oldest children. They’d get the same voting rights Murdoch’s death. His hope is to adjust things so that Lachlan receives more power when it comes to company decision-making. He’s long been known to be most like his father, with the other three siblings taking a more liberal slant politically.
Murdoch’s two daughters Chloe and Grace, from his third wife Wendi Deng, are also part of the trust but don’t retain the same voting powers that Prudence, Lachlan, Elisabeth, and James will have.
According to the Times, the probate commissioner “found that Mr. Murdoch could amend the trust if he is able to show he is acting in good faith and for the sole benefit of his heirs.”
