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Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Murdoch family reaches agreement to end multibillion-dollar succession battle

As part of the deal, each of Lachlan’s siblings will receive $1.1 billion for their shares in the empire.

• September 8, 2025
Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch(Credit: NBC News)

After several years, the succession battle over the multibillion-dollar empire of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has ended following an agreement allowing his youngest son, Lachlan Murdoch, to secure control of his father’s media companies, the family announced on Monday.

The announcement came months after Mr Murdoch and Lachlan launched a hostile attempt to unilaterally change the terms of the family’s trust that would have disenfranchised his three oldest children, Prue, Liz and James.

However, the father-son duo were unsuccessful in changing the terms of the family’s trust in court, prompting the two parties to seek a solution outside the courtroom and ultimately announced an agreement on Monday.

According to the New York Times, the new deal would allow various media outlets under the Murdoch empire, including Fox News, The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, with a combined value of $3.3 billion, to remain conservative after the death of Mr Murdoch.

The agreement is a huge win for the 94-year-old businessman who has long wanted to maintain the political alignment of his media empire, which he described as “protector of the conservative voice in the English-speaking world” under the leadership of his chosen heir, Mr Lachlan.

As part of the deal, each of Lachlan’s siblings will receive $1.1 billion for their shares in the empire and discontinuation of the ongoing litigation of the matter in court, the Times reported, citing sources familiar with the negotiations.

Furthermore, a new Murdoch family trust holding controlling stakes in the empire’s two main media companies, Fox Corporation and News Corp, is to be created, with Mr Lachlan and his two younger sisters, Grace and Chloe, to be listed as beneficiaries.

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