Former Chairman of Fox Corporation and News Corporation Rupert Murdoch lost his attempt to amend his family trust. The New York Times reported Monday that a Nevada commissioner ruled against the Australian media titan, who had hoped to consolidate control of Fox News Media under his son’s leadership, Lachlan Murdoch. The younger Murdoch currently serves as executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation and chairman of News Corp.
In a sealed court document obtained by The Times, the probate commissioner Edmund J. Gorman Jr. called attempts to alter his trust a “carefully crafted charade” and accused both Murdochs of acting in “bad faith.” Three of Murdoch’s four eldest children – James, Elisabeth and Prudence – were also opposed to the changes.
“We welcome Commissioner Gorman’s decision and hope that we can move beyond this litigation to focus on strengthening and rebuilding relationships between all members of the family,” the trio said in a statement provided to the Times .
Lawyers for Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch told the Times they plan to appeal the decision. TVNewser reached out to representatives for a statement, but one was not received as of press time.
As currently structured, the trust will divide ownership of Murdoch’s business between his Prudence, Elisabeth, James and Lachlan following his death. In July, The Times has learned that Murdoch sought to change terms to grant Lachlan decision-making power over the Fox News media empire, leaving his siblings stripped of the right to make decisions about its future. The third eldest Murdoch child is known for sharing his father’s conservative worldview, while his siblings have more diverse political views.
According to the Times, Murdoch, now 93, hoped to preserve the conservative-leaning coverage that made Fox News an audience monster in the cable news space by shifting the trust in Lachlan’s favor. The recent maneuver has been compared to an episode of the Emmy-winning HBO drama series Succession, which was inspired, in part, by the Murdoch family.
A Nevada district judge has yet to rule on Gorman’s resolution. If ratified, Murdoch could yet mount another legal challenge or his favored heir could attempt to buy the stakes of the other three.
“This effort was an attempt to stack the dice in Lachlan Murdoch’s favor following the death of Rupert Murdoch so that his estate would be immutable,” Gorman wrote in summarizing his argument. “The play could have worked; but in an evidentiary hearing, like in a confrontation in a poker game, this is where gamesmanship collides with facts and in the end all the bluffs are called and the cards are discovered.
