(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Media mogul Rupert Murdoch reportedly lost his bid Saturday to change his family’s trust in order to safeguard Fox News’s production of right-wing content from his leftist children.
Nevada Commissioner Edmund J. Gorman Jr. ruled against Murdoch’s attempt to give son Lachlan Murdoch, who is already in charge of Fox News and News Corp., full control of the company, according to sealed court documents obtained by The New York Times.
Rupert Murdoch has lost a bid to change his family trust to consolidate control of his media empire in the hands of his son Lachlan, the New York Times reported https://t.co/UXCw73hqtt pic.twitter.com/tdjRoB52t3
— Reuters Asia (@ReutersAsia) December 10, 2024
The 93-year-old’s company will be divided equally among his four eldest children—Lachlan, James, Elisabeth and Prudence—when he dies, the outlet reported.
The commissioner claimed Murdoch acted in “bad faith” when he tried to untangle his family trust plans, according to the outlet.
In his ruling, Gorman called Murdoch’s attempt to change his family trust a “carefully crafted charade” intended to “permanently cement Lachlan Murdoch’s executive roles” in the company “regardless of the impacts such control would have over the companies or the beneficiaries” of the family trust, the outlet reported.
Murdoch and his son, Lachlan, were not pleased with the ruling and plan to appeal, one lawyer for the pair reportedly said.
Murdoch’s other three eldest children issued a statement following Gorman’s ruling, according to the outlet.
“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,” they wrote.
While Murdoch initially considered Lachlan, James and Elisabeth as potential successors, he landed on Lachlan in 2019. However, the family trust complicated his choice, the outlet noted.
James and Elisabeth reportedly have more left-leaning politics than their brother, Lachlan, whose leadership is more likely to support the right-wing editorial slant of Fox News.
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
