Rupert Murdoch is in legal battle to change his trust terms, Lachlan pitted against James and sisters: Report

New York, US

Rupert Murdoch, the patriarch of News Corp and Fox and one of the most important media barons for the US conservative establishment, is engaged in a till-now secret legal battle on the future of his empire that has his children pitted against each other in what looks similar to the family squabbles in the hit web series Succession. First reported by the New York Times, the battle has all the elements of a riveting family drama.

According to the NYT report that cited court documents, the 93-year-old owner of properties like Fox News, New York Post and Wall Street Journal wants to keep his media business "as a conservative force" after his death. For this, he wants to keep his eldest son Lachlan firmly in control,  but three of his other children are giving him the push-back.

Murdoch's News Corp owns Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post as well as a string of newspapers and TV channels in Australia, Britain and elsewhere.

Fox News has been the lone star in a largely left or left-of-centre-leaning American media landscape.

What is the cause of Rupert Murdoch's legal battle involving his children?

At the heart of the battle is Project Harmony, Murdoch's  move to change an 'irrevocable' trust established by him over two decades ago with the intention of avoiding family squabbles over the company's direction once he is dead.

What he reportedly wants is to keep his eldest son Lachlan Murdoch- who he had formally named his successor in 2018- in charge of the future course of the company's TV and print assets.

Video: Rupert Murdoch ties the knot for the fifth time

As of now, as written in the trust, the family business will be given to his four older children- Lachlan, James, Elisabeth and Prudence- after Murdoch's demise. But as per court documents, he feels the conservative editorial stance of his properties can be ensured only if Lachlan is given full powers without interference from his siblings, some of whom have moderate stance.

In its current form, the trust gives an equal voice to all his four children in the company's future direction.

James, Murdoch's second son and his sisters Elisabeth and Prudence- who is his eldest child from his first marriage- are seen as moderate voices. According to the NYT report, the three "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."

The three children accuse Murdoch of 'disenfranchising' them by violating the "equal governance provision" in the terms of the trust, said the NYT report. 

Murdoch met separately with Elisabeth and Prudence in London after filing the petition to change the trust's terms hoping to win their support, a person familiar with the developments told NYT. "They were furious. Elisabeth responded to the possibility with a string of expletives," the report said, citing the source.

Murdoch went ahead with the move anyway, which James, Elisabeth and Prudence tried to block, but in vain.

Also read: Rupert Murdoch, 93, steps down as Fox chairman

With Lachlan on his side, Murdoch is probably winning the fight. The NYT report said the probate commissioner in Reno, Nevada ruled that Murdoch can amend the trust "if he is able to show he is acting in good faith" and for the benefit of his heirs.

The court noted the patriarch was concerned that the “lack of consensus” among his children “would impact the strategic direction" at his companies, which would "also involve a likely reorientation of editorial policy and content.” 

The ruling said Murdoch intended to “consolidate decision-making power in Lachlan’s hands and give him permanent, exclusive control” over the company.

That court's decision will now go into a trial stage in September, the paper reported.

Murdoch is represented by Adam Streisand, who in the past handled estate battles of Michael Jackson and Britney Spears.

The battle assumes significance in an election season as Republican candidate and former president Donald Trump is seen in polls as the frontrunner for the presidential elections due in November. Fox News has been the favoured microphone of Trump, in spite of his occasional fracas with it.

Murdoch thinks that the conservative editorial line of his publications is what gives them commercial value in the marketplace, which he wants to preserve in the larger interest of his successors.

Murdoch's marriages and his squabbling children

The latest court battle is in fact part of the ongoing saga of sibling rivalries and daddy issues in the Murdoch family, part of which may have inspired the series Succession. It got only further complicated by step-family dynamics, Murdoch having married five times.

Before Lachlan was formally named heir, James and Elisabeth had battled each other as well as Lachlan and their father. After Lachlan took charge, James left the company to lead an investment firm in 2019. Elisabeth Murdoch runs Sister, a movie studio.

Prudence is Murdoch’s oldest offspring from his first marriage to Patricia Booker. Lachlan, Elisabeth and James are his children from his second marriage to Anna Murdoch Mann.

Murdoch married for the fifth time this June, to Elena Zhukova. None of his older children attended the wedding, except for Lachlan.

Also read: Who is Lachlan Murdoch? Five things to know about the inheritor of Rupert Murdoch's media empire

That marriage came years after his much-publicised divorce from his third wife, the Chinese origin Wendi Deng. He has two daughters with Wendi: Chloe and Grace. 

Murdoch's fourth marriage was to Jerry Hall, but they didn't have any children together.

About the Murdoch Trust

The trust was created around the time of Murdoch’s divorce from his second wife, Anna Murdoch Mann, before he married Wendi in 1999.

The trust is basically a holding company of the family's shares in Murdoch companies like Fox News, Fox Broadcast Network and News Corp. His four older children as well as Chloe and Grace have equal shares, but the last two do not have voting rights.

The voting system at present is such that Murdoch will basically have veto power, meaning he cannot be outvoted, while Lachlan, James, Elisabeth and Prudence have a single vote each. Essentially what Murdoch wants to achieve through the legal proceedings is to give Lachlan the same voting power as himself, meaning he should not be outvoted in future. 

(With inputs from agencies)