When Rupert Murdoch dies, he could plunge the Fox and News Corp Empire in the Civil War

Murdoch is 94 years old. He could die at any time, Trump’s lawyers argue.

The legal maneuver, linked to the defamation trial of $ 10 billion from the president against the magnate and The Wall Street Journal Above a story on Trump’s alleged letter to Jeffrey Epstein, launched the longevity of the King of Modern Media and the future of his Empire.

Trump’s lawyers seem to believe that the Titan is not in a state of testimony at the trial, citing a litany of health problems, including a serious back injury, convulsions, two episodes of pneumonia, atrial fibrillation, a torn Achilles tendon, a serious case of COVVI-19 in 2022, and an incident to the journalist.

“Together, these factors weigh heavily by determining that Murdoch would not be available for testimonies in person at the trial,” wrote the lawyers of Trump.

For decades, Iron Gip of Murdoch led the Titanic – Fox Corporation and News Corp – Across Continns, by scandal, the intrigue of the conference room and implacable media cycles. However, the accent placed by the Court on its fragility and the legal affirmation according to which its control was subject to its ability to act, accelerates what could become the decisive history of the next world of world media: the battle of fracturing, uncertain and raised inheritance for one of the most powerful empires of news and entertainment.

Much of the fate of the Murdoch media dynasty is suspended in the Balance of Murdoch Family Trust. Created in 1999, after the second divorce of Rupert, the trust was created to control the participation and the significant voting power of the family in Fox Corporation and News Corp. Although the trust only holds around 14% of the equity of News Corp, it controls around 40 to 41% of the voting actions of the company, giving the Murdoch family an effective control of the Murdoch family on these large media companies through a structure in twoafcians.

Tom Stoddart – Images Getty

Confidence was designed for Rupert himself to have four votes during his lifetime, while his four older children – Lachlan, James, Elisabeth and Prudence – have all the votes each. On the death of Rupert, his four votes will also be distributed to these four children, so each will then have two votes, guaranteeing shared control. Currently, Lachlan is the only president of News Corp and the CEO of Fox Corporation, having taken over for his father after his retirement in 2023.

In the end, the trust allows the Murdoch family to control their media empire by concentrating voting power among the four older children after the death of Rupert. But its irrevocability and the principle of equal control has sparked a continuous legal and family conflict which is to compromise the power of the media that Murdoch has built.

At the end of 2023, Murdoch tried to modify the trust to grant a unique posthumous control to his eldest son, Lachlan, allowing him to fully resume the family business. This decision was legally challenged by the other three children, who argued that he had violated the initial equal control mandate. An approval court of Nevada ruled in December 2024 against Rupert’s attempt, but the legal team of the magnate has since appealed.

The trust also contains an expiration date of 2030 which has only contributed to the controversial family dynamics which has an impact on Murdochs companies. The deadline could decide the fate of Fox Corporation and News Corp. If the trust expires, its centralized terms and structure will dissolve, forcing the heirs of Murdoch to determine the future structure of property and control over the immense active in the family.

Above all, the legal battle on the trust caused an immense fracture in the family. Lachlan and Rupert’s attempt to maintain control galvanized the other three brothers and sisters of Lachlan. “They unified them in a way that they were not unified before and it is therefore in some respects a calculation error,” said the Australian journalist and Lachlan biographer, Paddy Manning Fortune.

Given the long history of the intestines of Murdoch, the succession in a post-urepto world has significant impacts on the media Empire. With the control of companies that also pass to the four elder children, the blocking of the conference room – if the brothers and sisters are unable to reach a consensus – could potentially paralyze key commercial decisions. And the current family divisions can shake up shareholders’ confidence.

Majority rules

The biographer of Murdoch, Michael Wolff, plans that the three brothers and voting sisters of Lachlan ultimately align against him and relieving him of his command on News Corp and Fox, and finally an implosion of the Murdoch Media Empire that we know today.

“The voice of the three would govern. And at the moment, it seems that the three were reluctant their control brother and would then take a determination on what happened to the remaining assets,” he said Fortune. (James, it should be noted, denied that there was even a secret plot between the brothers and sisters to overthrow Lachlan in a rare interview with The Atlantic.)

The children, predicts Wolff, will then sell some of the assets, namely those of News Corp which includes The Wall Street Journal And The Times of LondonAnd James could take over and pivot the Slant editorial of Fox News.

James, who is deeply involved in social justice initiatives and leftist policy, has long been frank on his depths disagreement with the editorial management of News Corp and Fox News, having resigned from the News Corp Board in 2020, explicitly citing the “disagreements on certain editorial content published by the news of society and certain other strategic decisions”. In interviews, he criticized his family’s affairs to “legitimize disinformation”.

James Murdoch refused a Fortune Comment request.

Even if James had to resume Fox, he would face a difficult battle with the board of directors of Fox Corporation which aligned itself with the vision of Lachlan and Rupert. Since taking control, Lachlan has appointed two of his own administrators, including former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. According to Manning: The role of Abbott on the board of directors is largely to strengthen the leadership of Lachlan. And shareholders, said Manning Fortunewould be quite concerned about a strategy that falsified the editorial line or programming, in a way that could dilute its profits potential.

Fox Corporation refused a Fortune Comment request.

As for the remaining companies of the Murdoch portfolio, finding an appropriate buyer for the myriad of less known assets in News Corp would be an important company. The Wall Street JournalSaid Wolff, would be a sort of an exception. “You have vanity buyers to strategic buyers,” he added, throwing the name of Michael Bloomberg in the mixture.

News Corp did not respond to a Fortune Comment request.

Redemption of $ 1 billion::

Acquiring to his brothers and sisters is not the only Lachlan option. Murdoch’s eldest son could buy his brothers and sisters, but attempts in 2019 and 2023 failed. Lachlan has never been willing to offer his brothers and sisters more than 60% of the market value of their shares.

Manning sees Lachlan redeem his brothers and sisters as the most logical movement, made by Rupert himself in the 1990s. But, according to Manning, the successful leadership of Lachlan at Fox and News Corp would allow his brothers and sisters to ask for a high price, in several billion dollars, for business control.

“Lachlan must pay his brothers and sisters an increasing value to depart from his way, and he must pay them effectively for the fruits of his strategy, which they have criticized. He is therefore in a real constraint,” said Manning Fortune.

Under the direction of Lachlan, the actions of Fox Corporation performed well, even showing during the first months of his appointment. Although the action has experienced a certain fluctuation due to the legal battles in progress, its price reached a summit of $ 58 in February 2025. In its financial statement in the third quarter, the company revealed $ 4.37 billion in revenues, an increase of 27% of one year on the other.

As for the performance of News Corp, the actions of the company have skyrocketed, reflecting stable financial performance and strong growth. In 2024, the company’s profits jumped almost 79%.

Jackie Luna – Reuters / Redux

Business as usual

The author and journalist Claire Atkinson, who largely covered the Murdochs and wrote an upcoming book on the media dynasty, underlines that Lachlan’s affairs gain as a potential reason for the brothers and sisters of Lachlan to allow him to keep control. She does not consider radical changes to Murdoch companies as inevitable after the death of Rupert.

“Lachlan has managed him for more than five years. Actions have done better than other media actions,” she said Fortune.

In addition to the performance of the action, Lachlan also helped to propel the success of Fox News. Fox News remains the best rated cable information chain, the head in prime time and the ABC, NBC and CBS overtaking. And he continued the expansion of Fox in streaming after the acquisition of Tubi, by the company, which in 2020, which in July 2025, has since exceeded 100 million monthly active users.

But beyond the success of Lachlan, Atkinson does not see Elisabeth and James trying to recover the power of the business of their family. “They have these fortunes of a billion dollars to create the media companies they want,” she said, something that Elisabeth has done for a long time. The youngest daughter of Murdoch launched his global television and cinema production company, Sister Pictures, in 2019.

Elisabeth Murdoch did not immediately return a Fortune Comment request.

Regardless of the potential results, Atkinson and Manning expect Lachlan to fight against teeth and nails to remain heirs of the Murdoch Empire. “I do not see him withdraw, resign or abandon this position as soon as I think he is absolutely attached to his role,” said Atkinson.

Wolff, however, questions Lachlan’s desire to go beyond the control of companies. “There is always the feeling that he prefers to do something else, spear fishing,” he said, referring to the favorite hobby of Lachlan.

The hardness of Lachlan will have to fight to stay at the top of his father’s business finally depends on his brothers and sisters, with whom his relations were tense by the weight of the Murdoch heritage and the divided ideals.

“All this comes down to four people, and if they get along or they do not get along, and whatever the accommodation they can come with each other. Nothing else matters, nothing except what these four people will want at some point,” said Wolff.