Lachlan Murdoch's great escape
Rupert's kids settle their dispute in a red-letter day for Murdochologists.
Tuesday was a red-letter day for Murdochologists, with the children of patriarch Rupert Murdoch settling their bitter dispute over the future control of his media empires News Corp and Fox. It just so happened to be Lachlan Murdoch's 54th birthday.[[Lachlan's birthday was Monday, but the settlement was announced on Monday US time.]]
It looked for all the world like Rupert and Lachlan had badly miscalculated in December 2023 by attempting to amend the deed of the Murdoch Family Trust to disenfranchise Lachlan's siblings Prudence, Elisabeth and James.[[The amendment would've stripped those three siblings of voting rights but made no changes to their equal economic interest in the trust's assets, bringing them into line with their half-sisters Chloe and Grace.]] A Reno, Nevada probate court disallowed the move in December 2024.
The failure of the ironically named Project Harmony left the three disaffected siblings in the enviable position – were they minded to vengeance – of merely waiting for their 93-year old father's life to expire (he's since turned 94) to collectively inherit 75 per cent of the family's voting power in News and Fox and relieve their brother of his leadership of both.