Eldest son has the succession Rupert craved after agreeing a payout to his siblings far higher than previously offered
As a keen rock climber, Lachlan Murdoch knows a thing or two about the importance of clinging on to perilous terrain. After the toughest ascent of his life – rising to the top of his father’s business empire – he has finally ensured that his place at its summit is assured.
The deal Rupert Murdoch’s eldest son has struck with his oldest siblings Prudence, Elisabeth and James will mean they give up their shares in the family business, handing Lachlan the long-term control that he and his father craved.
Arriving at such a deal, which will pay his siblings an estimated $1.1bn each for their portions of the businesses, may seem like an anticlimactic finale for a poisonous family saga that has fascinated the world and inspired a smash hit television show.
Yet in reality, it marks a victory for Lachlan’s three siblings, who will get a far higher payment than they were previously being offered. They secured that after winning a high-profile court case, opposing an audacious attempt by Rupert and Lachlan to effectively write them out of the family trust that controls the Murdoch businesses, Fox Corporation and News Corp.
