Former Fox Corporation and News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch has lost his bid to alter his family trust. The New York Times reported on Monday that a Nevada commissioner ruled against the Australian media titan, who had hoped to consolidate control of Fox News Media under his son, 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, probate commissioner Edmund J. Gorman Jr. labeled attempts to change his trust as 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 among all family members,” the trio said in a statement provided to the Times.
Lawyers for Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch indicated to the Times that they planned to appeal the ruling. TVNewser has reached out to representatives for a statement, but none was received at press time.
As currently structured, the trust will divide ownership of Murdoch’s company among his Prudence, Elisabeth, James, and Lachlan following his death. In July, the Times learned that Murdoch was seeking to change the terms to award Lachlan decision-making power over the Fox News media empire, leaving his siblings disenfranchised for decisions about its future. The third-eldest Murdoch child is known to share his father’s conservative worldview, while his siblings have more diverse political opinions.
According to the Times, Murdoch, now 93, hoped to preserve the conservative-leaning coverage that has made Fox News a ratings behemoth in the cable news space by amending the trust in Lachlan’s favor. The recent maneuvering has been likened to an episode of HBO’s Emmy-winning drama Succession, which was inspired, in part, by the Murdoch family.
A district judge in Nevada still has to weigh in on Gorman’s resolution. Should it be ratified, Murdoch could still mount another legal challenge or his preferred heir could attempt to purchase the other three’s stakes.
“The effort was an attempt to stack the deck in Lachlan Murdoch’s favor after Rupert Murdoch’s passing so that his succession would be immutable,” Gorman wrote while summarizing his argument. “The play might have worked; but an evidentiary hearing, like a showdown in a game of poker, is where gamesmanship collides with the facts and at its conclusion, all the bluffs are called and the cards lie face up.”
