Rupert Murdoch receives crushing blow in his own ‘Succession battle’ with his children

In his real-life succession battle, Rupert Murdoch was dealt a crushing blow.

After a protracted legal battle with three of his other children, the mogul’s attempt to transfer control of his family media empire to his eldest son has been halted by a US court.

The 93-year-old media mogul’s attempt to change his family’s trust, which now grants his four oldest children equal voting rights in the organization that will be held by News Corp. and Fox News after his death, was a product of a legal battle in the “Succession” courtroom.

According to a court-appointed official, Mr. Murdoch and his son Lachlan, the head of Fox News and News Corp., engaged in “bad faith” and called their efforts a “carefully crafted charade” meant to “permanently cement” Lachlan’s control, according to a sealed document obtained over the weekend by The New York Times.

Mr. Murdoch is not trying to diminish any of his children’s financial inheritance, so it is not thought that the family trust dispute is about money. Instead, it is believed to have been a move to bolster his media empire by sprinkling the vote of his less-conservative children.

The newspaper was informed by lawyer Adam Streisand that they planned to appeal the ruling that a Nevada court had rendered.

In a statement to the Times, Prudence, Elisabeth, and James read: “We welcome Commissioner Gorman’s decision and hope that we can shift our focus from this litigation to strengthening and restoring relationships among all family members.”

The Murdoch children watched an episode of the HBO drama Succession, in which the patriarch, played by Scottish actor Brian Cox, leaves his estate and business in disarray after his passing, according to reports in the case.

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.

In 2006, Mr. Murdoch established the family trust, which enables him to continue operating the business until his death, when his four oldest children will receive equal voting shares.

The media titan, who has been married five times, also has two younger children, Grace and Chloe, who do not have any voting rights under the agreement but have an equal financial stake.

Mr. Murdoch had argued that the trust should be changed to allow Lachlan Murdoch to maintain Fox News’ conservative slant in order to preserve his company’s commercial value for all of his heirs.

It is known that James and Elisabeth Murdoch have more conservative political views than their father or brother.

The Murdoch family’s deep rifts have been exposed by the case, which has also raised questions about the media organization’s future.

The empire spans influential media outlets worldwide, including Fox News, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal in America, and newspapers The Sun and The Times in the UK.

Even after the court ruling, the battle could rage on, with the losing party free to challenge the determination.

Mr. Murdoch and Lachlan are also said to be able to pursue other ways to consolidate Lachlan’s power, such as by the eldest son attempting to buy out his siblings’ stake in the business if all legal efforts are unsuccessful.

For comment, Mr. Murdoch’s representatives have been contacted.

Source: Mirror