[imagesource:wikicommons]

Rupert Murdoch’s media empire and a $20.3 billion family trust are at the centre of a legal battle that started in the US on Monday.

In the lawsuit, three of Murdoch’s oldest children will compete to see who would have the most voting shares and the ability to run News Corp. and Fox News after his death.

It has been reported that Murdoch wanted to amend a family trust created in 1999 so that son Lachlan could take control without “interference” from his siblings Prudence, Elisabeth and James. Murdoch has been married five times and has two younger children, Grace and Chloe, who do not have any voting rights under the trust agreement.

According to Australian journalist and author of the biography Young Rupert: The Making of the Murdoch Empire, Walter Marsh, “This plan essentially seeks to put Prudence, James and Elisabeth on the same footing as Murdoch’s two younger daughters.”

It’s believed that “all voting power” could be handed over to Lachlan.

The wildly successful TV show Succession was inspired in part by the legendary family although the Murdochs have consistently declined to comment on this.

The media firm’s ownership, the Murdoch Family Trust, was expected to resolve the succession arrangements in major part by 1999. As a result, Murdoch gave his oldest children a variety of positions inside his businesses.

The family is granted eight votes by the trust, which it may use to cast a vote on the News Corp. and Fox News boards. Currently,  Murdoch holds four of those votes, while each of his eldest children holds one.

According to the terms of the trust arrangement, Murdoch’s four eldest children would each get an equal number of votes upon his death. However, it was alleged that disagreements over political beliefs and perspectives caused a family rift.

The media mogul stepped down as Fox and News Corp chairman in favour of Lachlan, who reportedly shares the same right-wing views as his father. This has reportedly led to James, Elisabeth and Prudence uniting and “fighting back”.

The real-life drama series is currently taking place in the Washoe County Courthouse in Reno, Nevada. The mogul and the four kids listed in the trust are expected to testify during next week’s proceedings, but media outlets are not allowed to cover them, according to the New York Times, which first reported on the conflict after gaining access to sealed court records.

Prudence is Mr Murdoch’s eldest child, from his marriage to his first wife Patricia Booker. He had Elisabeth, Lachlan and James with his second wife Anna Mann, whom he was married to from 1967 to 1999. Grace and Chloe’s mother is Wendi Deng, who was married to the billionaire from 1999 to 2013. Mr Murdoch’s fourth marriage was to model Jerry Hall in 2016, with the couple divorcing in 2022. He recently married his fifth wife Elena Zhukova in June this year.

[source:bbc]