A real-life “Succession” battle for Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has ended with a Nevada court commissioner denying the billionaire’s bid to change a family trust and give control to his eldest son, BBC.
The case pitted the 93-year-old against three of his children over who would gain the power to control News Corp and Fox News when he dies.
It has been reported that Mr Murdoch wanted to amend a family trust created in 1999 to allow his son Lachlan to take control without “interference” from his siblings Prudence, Elisabeth and James.
A Nevada commissioner ruled Mr Murdoch and Lachlan had acted in “bad faith” and called the efforts a “carefully crafted charade”, according to the New York Times.
photographed at the 2018 tennis US Open
In a statement, a spokesperson for Prudence, Elisabeth and James said: “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.”
Adam Streisand, a lawyer for Mr Murdoch, told the New York Times they were disappointed and planned to appeal.
A spokesperson for Mr Murdoch declined to comment to the BBC. Mr Streisand did not immediately respond to inquiries.
The famous family was one of the inspirations behind the hugely popular TV series Succession – something the Murdochs have always refused to comment on.
But according to the New York Times report, which is based on a copy of the sealed court ruling, the billionaire’s children had started discussing their father’s death and how they would handle it after an episode of the HBO series where “the patriarch of the family dies, leaving his family and business in chaos”.
The episode led to Elisabeth’s representative to the trust writing a “‘Succession’ memo” that sought to prevent this from happening in real life, said reports.
The case has played out behind closed doors in Nevada, a state that offers one of the most confidential legal settings for matters including family trust disputes.
It has a “close on demand” statute that allows parties involved in certain sensitive cases to request that court proceedings be sealed from public access, ensuring complete privacy.
Mr Murdoch, who has been married five times, also has two younger children, Grace and Chloe, who do not have any voting rights under the trust agreement.
