STORY: A closed-door court battle over Rupert Murdoch’s media empire starting Monday could determine the future of Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.
The 93-year-old is attempting to change the terms of the family’s irrevocable trust to ensure his newspapers and television networks remain under the control of his eldest son and chosen heir, Lachlan Murdoch.
That’s according to the New York Times which obtained a sealed court document detailing the succession drama.
The court hearing isn’t taking place in the media hubs of New York or London but in Reno, Nevada.
Elyse Tyrell, an estate planning attorney in Nevada thinks she knows why.
“We do have the ability, fairly easy, to go into court and for lack of a better way to say it, amend an irrevocable trust that by nature is not amendable.”
The trust is the vehicle through which the elder Murdoch controls News Corp and Fox, with roughly a 40% stake in voting shares of each company.
It currently transfers the voting shares upon his death to his four children including James Murdoch who has donated to progressive political groups and resigned in 2020 from the News Corp board, citing disagreements over editorial content.
Lachlan Murdoch runs Fox and is sole chair of News Corp. But three of the siblings could potentially out-vote him, setting up a battle over the future of the companies.
Rupert Murdoch’s proposed amendment to the trust would block any interference by three of Lachlan’s siblings, who are more politically moderate, the Times reported, citing a sealed court document.
Another Nevada estate planning attorney tells Reuters, the elder Murdoch will have to convince the court that the changes would not “sacrifice the rights, or discriminate against, any of the parties that this trust was intended to protect.”
Spokespeople for the Murdochs declined to comment, did not respond to a request for comment or could not be reached for comment.
Source Agencies
