Family settlement determines eldest boy, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch, still dad's favorite

In settling with his siblings, Rupert Murdoch's eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, will succeed his father as head of News Corp.

By Matt Schimkowitz | September 8, 2025 | 9:22pm

(Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

TV News Fox News

Family settlement determines eldest boy, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch, still dad's favorite

Proving the inherent falability of Jesse Armstrong’s award-winning series, Succession, the eldest boy will indeed be the successor to his father’s right-wing media empire. After settling in court with his beloved family members, Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of News Corp founder Rupert Murdoch, will continue in his role as the chairman of the Fox Corporation and Fox News’ parent company, News Corp, positions he assumed in 2023 when Rupert retired. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the Murdochs announced a settlement to the siblings’ legal dispute over the family trust, which began last year. Lachlan’s siblings, Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch, and James Murdoch, have broken away from the family business and will become beneficiaries of a new trust funded through the sale of millions of Fox and News Corp shares, netting each sibling between $500 million and $1.1 billion.

Last year, dear dad attempted to alter his family trust, favoring Lachlan, so that the eldest would retain control of the businesses in the unlikely event that 94-year-old Rupert dies. A Nevada court official denied his request, leading to the protracted legal battle between Lachlan and his siblings. At the heart of it, Rupert wanted to prevent James, Prudence, or Elisabeth from taking control of America’s most popular news channel, Fox News, fearing they could have cleaned up the company’s politics and slowed down the country’s abrupt descent into authoritarianism. (Or, in an even more unlikely scenario, TV fanatics might have speculated that Rupert Murdoch’s sniveling midwestern son-in-law would assume the reins.) Apparently, all it took was a few annoying months in court and a couple of billion dollars to make the problem go away.