Murdoch Family Trust Battle: Billion-Dollar Musical Chairs Edition

Rupert Murdoch, aging media titan, decided in September 2023 to pass the empire torch to his son Lachlan, 51, who was born in London, schooled at elite spots like Phillips Academy and Princeton (where he wrote a thesis on Kant's practical philosophy — because nothing screams 'media mogul in training' like 18th-century German idealism). After a messy secret Nevada court fight that ended up with Rupert and Lachlan caught acting in 'bad faith,' Lachlan gets sole voting control of Fox and News Corp via a new trust. Sidelined siblings James, Elisabeth, and Prudence magically cashed out with billion-dollar payouts while James loudly trashed Fox News content. Meanwhile, Lachlan married a British-Australian model, resigned in 2005, then returned to rule the kingdom, showing the Murdoch approach to family drama is 'divide, settle, rinse, repeat.'

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Imagine spending millions to make sure one son controls a media empire while the other siblings cash out billion-dollar tickets to the sidelines. Family game nights at the Murdochs must be less Monopoly, more Game of Thrones with better lawyers.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Lachlan took over dad’s empire after a courtroom drama that sounds like a Netflix series, except it’s real life and includes Christian names like ‘Grace’ and ‘Chloe’ for control shares. Family feud or a weird episode of The Apprentice? Hard to tell.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

James Murdoch yelling at Fox News programming while simultaneously accepting billionaire consolation prizes feels like the corporate version of a toddler throwing a tantrum in a candy store owned by Dad.

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