Rupert Murdoch loses ‘carefully crafted charade’ for elder son's control of media empire: 'Acting in bad faith'

Rupert Murdoch's bold attempt to secure his eldest son's control over one of the world's most powerful media empires has failed, stated a US media report on Monday. All of the media mogul's three children, will retain control despite Murdoch's attempt to give his eldest son Lachlan complete control.

Nevada Commissioner Edmund Gorman concluded that Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch had acted in 'bad faith' in their efforts to alter the terms of an irrevocable trust that divides control of the company among Murdoch's four oldest children, reported The New York Times.

Adam Streisand, one of Murdoch’s lawyers, told NYT that Rupert Murdoch has planned to appeal the decision.

As per the current terms of the trust, all four children of the Murdoch family — James, Elisabeth, Prudence and Lachlan — have equal voting power over Fox News and News Corp.

‘Carefully crafted charade’

The Nevada Commissioner accused the Fox News and New Corp empire owner, Rupert Murdoch of ‘carefully crafting a charade’ to “permanently cement Lachlan Murdoch’s executive roles” within the empire, regardless of the impact of such a control, stated the NYT report.

“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," Rupert Murdoch's other three children, James, Elisabeth and Prudence told Times.

Is Rupert Murdoch's eldest son his favourite?

According to a report by The Guardian, Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of the Murdoch family, is known to be more politically aligned with his father Rupert Murdoch. The three other children are known to be less conservative, especially, the younger son, James Murdoch, has publicly accused US media of “propagating lies” that unleashed “insidious and uncontrollable forces” after the January 6 insurrection.

James, and Lachlan Murdoch's role in News Corp

James Murdoch stepped down from his position as a senior executive at News Corp in 2020. That same year, he and his wife donated dollar 600,000 to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.

Meanwhile, Lachlan, who became chair of News Corp in 2023, has privately expressed political views similar to his father's. He has also linked himself to the growth in ratings and sales that the media empire experienced following Donald Trump's rise in 2015, according to multiple reports.