Speculation about Rupert Murdoch‘s succession came to an end this Thursday after the most powerful and influential media mogul of the modern era announced his retirement and the appointment of his son Lachlan Murdoch as the new head of his conglomerate.
With the departure of his 92-year-old father, Lachlan will become the sole chairman of both News Corp and Fox News, after co-chairing the company for years. Rupert Murdoch will continue to serve on the boards of directors as chairman emeritus, according to the companies.
“We thank him for his vision, his pioneering spirit, his steadfast determination and the enduring legacy he leaves behind the companies he founded and the countless people he has influenced,” Lachlan said of his father in a statement Thursday morning.
The appointment of Lachlan, 52 years old and the eldest of Murdoch’s six children, ended a soap opera that inspired the hit HBO series Succession.
He was born in London but was raised in New York from the age of 3 and spent much of his adult life in Australia. He graduated from the exclusive Princeton University and is the father of three children.
Lachlan has worked closely with his father since he was a teenager, and has been involved in television and news for decades.
His first job in the company was when he was 18 years old. Four years later he directed his first newspaper in Queensland (Australia), and the following year he headed the national newspaper The Australian.
At 34, he was the third most powerful executive at News Corp, with control of several Fox TV franchises in the United States and the New York Post.
Lachlan and Rupert during a News Corp meeting in Adelaide, Australia, in 1996 The eldest son was 25 years old at the time (REUTERS/Stringer/file)
In 2005, however, Lachlan abruptly left his position at News Corp, following a dispute with then-Fox News boss Roger Ailes, in which his father took his side.
He returned to Australia to work at his own private investment company, Illyria, before returning to the family business in 2014 as co-chairman of News Corp.
His return quickly returned him to the top, eclipsing his more moderate brother James and his sisters Elisabeth and Prudence.
Rupert Murdoch’s decision today is the fulfillment of a promise he first made in 2019, when he named Lachlan heir to his company. Lachlan will now become the sole chairman of News Corp. He will also retain his position as CEO of Fox, a position he has held since 2019. Within this role, he will serve as president of influential media outlets such as Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.
Rupert Murdoch among his sons Lachlan and James in London (REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/file)
By making clear his intention to pass the empire to Lachlan as sole executive, Rupert Murdoch hopes to avoid a sibling dispute after his death. Under the trust created for Murdoch’s four children, they all share control of the company, indicating that there could still be problems.
Two people close to James told Vanity Fair that the heir is biding his time until he and his sisters can wrest control from Lachlan after Rupert dies. “James, Liz and Prudence will join forces and take control of the company,” said a former Fox executive.
In that sense, rather than directing the company forward, Lachlan’s most difficult task seems to be something else: keeping the family together.
How he conquered the top of the media empire
Lachlan‘s name as a possible successor to his father has been around for at least two decades. Following today’s announcement he brought up a 1990s interview in which Rupert said: “Currently, the consensus is that Lachlan will take over. He will be the first among equals, but everyone will have to prove themselves.”
In recent years, the media reported on the bitter fighting that broke out between the brothers, particularly between Lachlan and James, which ultimately resulted in the elder’s victory.
According to the media, Elisabeth was considered the most capable daughter, but she left the family business in 2000 to launch her successful television production company. James had become the chosen one after Lachlan left the company in 2005. However, Murdoch was irritated by James’ more progressive and moderate stance and his desire to make News Corp, a conglomerate whose media is characterized by a conservative style and popular, respected in elite circles.
James Murdoch during an event in 2018 (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for National Geographic)
It was then that Rupert pressured Lachlan to return from Australia as his heir, a decision that was a “big slap” to James, a source close to him told Vanity Fair in April.
Currently, James and Lachlan are not on speaking terms, and James wastes no opportunity to express his horror at Fox News and Lachlan’s leadership style.
The truth is that, over the years, Lachlan has proven to be a loyal fighter when it came to following in his father’s footsteps. He was front and center in many of Fox News’ most controversial recent actions. Among others, Lachlan was the driving force behind Tucker Carlson‘s rise as Fox News ‘ biggest and most extremist star, defending the journalist even as he said immigrants were making “America dirtier.”
Lachlan was also involved in the lawsuit brought by voting systems company Dominion, which cost Fox $786 million in damages. In legal filings, Dominion accused Lachlan of playing a central role in allowing Fox News hosts to spread lies about its voting machines, fueling Trump’s claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
In fact, one of the big unknowns is whether the conservative and pro-Trump stance of Fox News will continue with Lachlan as leader. A hypersensitive issue at a time when the 2024 presidential elections are approaching, with the former president as a probable Republican candidate.
