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On July 28, President Donald Trump\u2019s attorneys filed an urgent motion<\/a> in federal court demanding the expedited deposition of Rupert Murdoch\u2014a move justified, they argued, by both Murdoch\u2019s central role in News Corp\u2019s decision-making and his allegedly precarious health.\u00a0<\/p>\n Murdoch is 94. He could die at any moment, Trump\u2019s lawyers argued.<\/p>\n The legal maneuver, connected to the president\u2019s $10 billion defamation lawsuit<\/a> against the mogul and the Wall Street Journal<\/em> over a story about Trump\u2019s alleged letter to Jeffrey Epstein, has thrown the king of modern media\u2019s longevity and his empire\u2019s future into question.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s lawyers seem to believe the titan is in no condition to testify at trial, citing a litany of health issues<\/a> including a severe back injury<\/a>, seizures, two bouts of pneumonia<\/a>, atrial fibrillation, a torn Achilles tendon, a serious case of COVID-19 in 2022, and an incident in February 2025 when Murdoch collapsed and fainted<\/a> at breakfast with a journalist.<\/p>\n \u201cTaken together, these factors weigh heavily in determining that Murdoch would be unavailable for in-person testimony at trial,\u201d Trump\u2019s lawyers wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n For decades, Murdoch\u2019s iron grip steered titanic assets\u2014Fox<\/a> Corporation and News Corp\u2014across continents, through scandal, boardroom intrigue, and relentless media cycles. Yet the court\u2019s focus on his fragility, and the legal assertion that his control has been contingent on his ability to act, accelerates what could become the defining story of the next era in global media: the fractious, uncertain, and high-stakes succession battle for one of the most powerful empires in news and entertainment.<\/p>\n Much of the Murdoch media dynasty\u2019s fate hangs in the balance of the Murdoch Family Trust.\u00a0 Established in 1999, after Rupert\u2019s second divorce, the trust was created<\/a> to control the family\u2019s significant stake and voting power in both Fox Corporation and News Corp.<\/a> Although the trust owns only about 14% of News Corp\u2019s equity, it controls roughly 40-41% of the company\u2019s voting shares, giving the Murdoch family effective control over these major media businesses through a dual-share structure.<\/p>\n Tom Stoddart\u2014Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The trust was designed so that Rupert himself holds four votes during his lifetime, while his four eldest children\u2014Lachlan, James, Elisabeth, and Prudence\u2014hold one vote each. Upon Rupert\u2019s death, his four votes will be distributed equally to these four children, so each will then have two votes, ensuring shared control. At the moment, Lachlan is the sole chair of News Corp and the CEO of Fox Corporation, having taken over for his father after his retirement<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the trust enables the Murdoch family to control its media empire by concentrating voting power among the four eldest children following Rupert\u2019s death. But its irrevocability and the principle of equal control have sparked ongoing legal and familial conflict that stand to jeopardize the media powerhouse Murdoch built.\u00a0<\/p>\n In late 2023, Murdoch attempted to alter the trust<\/a> to grant sole posthumous control to his eldest son, Lachlan, allowing him to take over the family business entirely. This move was legally contested by the other three children, who argued it violated the original mandate of equal control. A Nevada probate court ruled in December 2024<\/a> against Rupert\u2019s attempt, but the mogul\u2019s legal team has since filed an appeal.<\/p>\n \u201cLachlan is having to pay his siblings a higher and higher value to get out of his way. \u2026 So he\u2019s in a real bind.\u201dPaddy Manning, Australian journalist and Lachlan biographer<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n The trust also contains a 2030 expiration date that has only contributed to the ongoing contentious family dynamics that impact the Murdochs\u2019 businesses. The deadline could decide the fate of Fox Corporation and News Corp. Should the trust expire, its terms and centralized structure will dissolve, forcing the Murdoch heirs to determine among themselves the future structure of ownership and control over the family\u2019s immense assets.\u00a0<\/p>\n Above all, the legal battle over the trust has caused an immense divide in the family. Lachlan and Rupert\u2019s attempt to maintain control has galvanized Lachlan\u2019s three other siblings. \u201cThey\u2019ve unified them in a way that they weren\u2019t unified before and so it has been in some ways a miscalculation,\u201d Australian journalist and Lachlan biographer Paddy Manning told Fortune<\/em>.<\/p>\n Given the long history of Murdoch sibling infighting, succession in a post-Rupert world stands to have significant impacts on the media empire. With control of the businesses passing equally to the four eldest children, boardroom gridlock\u2014if the siblings are unable to reach consensus\u2014could potentially paralyze key business decisions. And ongoing family divisions may shake shareholder confidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n Majority rules<\/strong><\/p>\n Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff foresees Lachlan\u2019s three vote-holding siblings ultimately aligning against him and relieving him of his command over News Corp and Fox, and eventually an implosion of the Murdoch media empire we know today.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe voice of the three would rule. And right now that appears to be that the three would relieve their brother of control and then make a determination about what happened to the remaining assets,\u201d he told Fortune<\/em>. (James, it\u2019s worth noting, has denied<\/a> there has even been a secret conspiracy between the siblings to unseat Lachlan in a rare interview with the Atlantic<\/em>.)<\/p>\n The children, Wolff predicts, will then sell off some of the assets, namely those within News Corp which includes the Wall Street Journal<\/em> and the Times of London<\/em>, and James could take over and pivot the editorial slant of Fox News.<\/p>\n \u201cThis all comes down to four people, and whether they get along or they don\u2019t get along.\u201dMichael Wolff, Murdoch biographer<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n James, who is deeply involved in social-justice initiatives and left-leaning politics, has long been outspoken about his deep disagreements with the editorial direction of both News Corp and Fox News, having resigned from the News Corp board in 2020, explicitly citing \u201cdisagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company\u2019s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions.\u201d In interviews, he\u2019s criticized<\/a> his family\u2019s business for \u201clegitimizing disinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n James Murdoch declined a Fortune<\/em> request for comment.<\/p>\n Even if James were to take over Fox<\/a>, he would face an uphill battle with the Fox Corporation board that has aligned itself with Lachlan and Rupert\u2019s vision. Since taking over, Lachlan has appointed two of his own directors, including former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott<\/a>. According to Manning: Abbott\u2019s role on the board is largely to buttress Lachlan\u2019s leadership. And shareholders, Manning told Fortune<\/em>, would be pretty concerned about a strategy that tampered with the editorial line, or the programming, in a way that could dilute its earnings potential.<\/p>\n Fox Corporation declined a Fortune<\/em> request for comment.<\/p>\n As for the remaining businesses in the Murdoch portfolio, finding a suitable buyer for the myriad lesser-known assets within News Corp would be a significant undertaking. The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, Wolff said, would be somewhat of an exception. \u201cYou have vanity buyers to strategic buyers,\u201d he added, throwing Michael Bloomberg\u2019s name into the mix. <\/p>\n News Corp did not respond to a Fortune<\/em> request for comment.<\/p>\n Billion-dollar buyout<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Acquiescing to his siblings isn\u2019t Lachlan\u2019s sole option. The eldest Murdoch son could buy out his siblings, but past attempts, in 2019 and 2023, were unsuccessful. Lachlan has never been willing to offer his siblings more than 60%<\/a> of the market value of their shares.\u00a0<\/p>\n Manning sees Lachlan buying out his siblings as the most logical move, one made by Rupert himself in the 1990s. But, according to Manning, Lachlan\u2019s successful leadership at Fox and News Corp would allow his siblings to ask a high price, into the several billions of dollars, for control of the companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLachlan is having to pay his siblings a higher and higher value to get out of his way, and he\u2019s having to pay them for effectively the fruits of his strategy, which they have criticized. So he\u2019s in a real bind,\u201d Manning told Fortune<\/em>.<\/p>\n Under Lachlan\u2019s leadership, Fox Corporation\u2019s stock has performed well, even rising throughout the initial months of his appointment. Although the stock has seen some fluctuation due to ongoing legal battles, its price reached an all-time high<\/a> of $58 in February 2025. In its third-quarter financial reporting<\/a>, the company disclosed $4.37 billion in revenues, a 27% year-over-year increase. <\/p>\n As for News Corp\u2019s performance, the company\u2019s stock has soared, reflecting steady financial performance and strong growth. In 2024<\/a>, the company\u2019s earnings jumped nearly 79%.<\/p>\n Jackie Luna\u2014REUTERS\/Redux<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Business as usual<\/strong><\/p>\n Author and journalist Claire Atkinson, who has covered the Murdochs extensively and is writing a forthcoming book on the media dynasty, points to Lachlan\u2019s business wins as a potential reason for Lachlan\u2019s siblings to allow him to remain in control. She doesn\u2019t view sweeping changes to the Murdoch businesses as inevitable following Rupert\u2019s death.<\/p>\n \u201cLachlan has run it for more than five years. The stocks have done better than other media stocks,\u201d she told Fortune<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aside from the stock\u2019s performance, Lachlan has also helped propel Fox News\u2019 success. Fox News remains the top-rated cable news channel, leading<\/a> primetime and outpacing ABC, NBC, and CBS. And he has continued Fox\u2019s expansion into streaming<\/a> following the company\u2019s 2020 acquisition of Tubi, which as of July 2025, has since surpassed<\/a> 100 million monthly active users.<\/p>\n\n
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