Legal
Murdoch Courtroom Fight to Be a Verdict on Lachlan’s Leadership
- Mogul seeks to change trust, make eldest son his successor
- Siblings are asking court to block changes sought by father
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The succession battle playing out in a Nevada courtroom this month between Rupert Murdoch’s four oldest children could ultimately decide who controls Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, two of the most influential US news outlets.
Murdoch, 93, is seeking to change an irrevocable family trust to favor his eldest son Lachlan as his successor, prompting three other children, Prudence, Elisabeth and James, to fight back in probate court in Reno. If Murdoch gets his way, Lachlan will control Fox Corp. and News Corp. after his death, rather than dividing power among the four, as the trust had prescribed.