Rupert Murdoch is locked in a secret legal battle against three of his children over the future of the family’s media empire, as he moves to preserve it as a conservative political force after his death, according to a sealed court document obtained by The New York Times.
Mr. Murdoch, 93, set the drama in motion late last year, when he made a surprise move to change the terms of the Murdochs’ irrevocable family trust to ensure that his eldest son and chosen successor, Lachlan, would remain in charge of his vast collection of television networks and newspapers.
The trust currently hands control of the family business to the four oldest children when Mr. Murdoch dies.
Those three siblings — James, Elisabeth and Prudence — were caught completely off-guard by their father’s effort to rewrite what was supposed to be an inviolable trust and have united to stop him.
Remarkably, the ensuing battle has been playing out entirely out of public view.
Persons:
Rupert Murdoch, Murdoch, Lachlan, — James, Elisabeth, Prudence —
Organizations:
The New York Times