A Nevada Commissioner ruled resoundingly against Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to change his family’s trust to consolidate his eldest son Lachlan’s control of his media empire according to the New York Times.
Commissioner Edmund J. Gorman Jr. concluded that Murdoch and his son, who is the head of Fox News and News Corp., had acted in “bad faith” in their effort to amend the irrevocable trust, which divides control of the company equally among his four oldest children, Lachlan James, Elisabeth and Prudence, after his death.
In the 96-page opinion, Gorman describes the plan as a “carefully crafted charade” to “permanently cement Lachlan Murdoch’s executive roles” inside the empire “regardless of the impacts such control would have over the companies or the beneficiaries” of the family trust.
One of Murdoch’s lawyers, Adam Streisand, said they were disappointed and intended to appeal the ruling.
Murdoch’s other children, James, Elisabeth and Prudence, said they welcomed the decision in a joint statement.
“We welcome Commissioner Gorman’s decision and hope that we can move beyond this litigation to focus on strengthening and rebuilding relationships among all family members,” they said.
Murdoch’s plans to give his son Lachlan full control over the media empire after his death is not only a matter of finances but also to ensure future control of the world’s most powerful conservative media empire spanning across the U.S., Britain and Australia.
It is understood that Lachlan, who is CEO and executive chair of Fox Corp and sole chair of News Corp, is more aligned with his father's right-wing politics than his siblings.
As at 1:47 pm (AEDT), 10 December, the News Corporation (NWS.AX) share price is at A$50.05, down from its previous close of $50.58. Its intraday market cap is $26.45 billion.