Headlines have been circulating in recent weeks about an ongoing legal battle between a high-profile media mogul and his children for control over the patriarch’s news empire — but no, the hit HBO series “Succession” is not back for another season.
The courtroom showdown involving Rupert Murdoch and four of his children is, in fact, all too real. Late last year, Murdoch made a change to the irrevocable Murdoch Family Trust, which was set up in 1999 to transition Murdoch’s vast media holdings, now consisting of News Corp and Fox Corporation , to the control of Murdoch’s four eldest children, each of whom would have an equal vote, upon his death. News Corp oversees such powerful media entities as the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal, while Fox Corporation is home to conservative juggernauts Fox News and Fox Business.
In a shocking twist, Murdoch changed the trust in 2023 to convert control of the vast entity to his eldest son Lachlan — much to the surprise of remaining siblings Prudence, Elisabeth and James, who opposed the change and sought to challenge it in court. Although the trust is irrevocable, the Nevada probate commissioner found in June that Murdoch could amend the trust if he is able to show he did so in good faith and for the sole benefit of his heirs.