Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, 92, formalized the transfer of power to his eldest son Lachlan, who will assume the presidency of the media group News Corp and Fox Corporation in mid-November. France 24 reviews the meteoric rise of the future head of the powerful and controversial media empire.
This is the epilogue of a stormy succession within the Fox empire. In mid-November, Lachlan Murdoch, 52, will be the new president of the media group News Corp and of Fox Corporation, the global information giant and entertainment industry. conservatism. He replaces his father, Rupert Murdoch, who will become honorary chairman of both companies.
The news was made official on Thursday, September 21, in a statement read on Fox News, in which tribute was paid to the “indelible mark” of the 92-year-old businessman, accused by his critics of encouraging, through his media, the rise of populism in Anglo-Saxon countries, especially in the context of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.
Lachlan is the third of Rupert Murdoch’s six children and inherits an empire made up of several hundred companies, including major media outlets such as The Sun, The Times of London, The Wall Street Journal and The Daily Telegraph, as well as the publishing house HarperCollins and real estate advertising giant Rea Group, valued at $22 billion last year.
Executive Chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation since 2019, Lachlan Murdoch was always seen as the favorite to take over from his siblings, James, Prudence and Elizabeth. However, Lachlan Murdoch’s rise to the top has not been easy, with intra-family rivalries and conflictive relationships with his father and mentor.
A start on the left foot
Born from Rupert Murdoch’s second marriage to Scottish journalist Anna Torv, then his employee at the Daily Mirror, Lachlan studied at the prestigious American university of Princeton before joining his father’s group in Australia, where he enjoyed a meteoric rise.
After running the Queensland newspaper and then The Australian newspaper, at the age of 25 he began running the group’s operations in the country as managing director of News Ltd.. At the time, it seemed clear that Lachlan Murdoch was on the right track to succeed his father at the head of the group.
But in 2005, when he was third on News Corp’s organizational chart, he suddenly resigned and left the United States to return to Australia with his wife and children. Lachlan Murdoch justified herself by saying that she missed the country where she had built the first part of her career, and that she wanted to spend more time with her family. But many analysts pointed out the differences between father and son over the management of the group and the shadow of Rupert Murdoch, which had become very heavy. Lachlan is said to have been repeatedly disavowed by his father in front of group executives.
The return of the prodigal son
Although he retained a director’s position within the group, Lachlan remained on the sidelines for almost a decade, supporting his younger brother James, who in turn rose through the ranks of the company.
In 2014, Lachlan began his return to business as non-executive co-chairman of News Corp. The following year he became executive chairman of 21st Century Fox and, in 2019, president and CEO of Fox Corporation, following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney.
In 2020, James resigned from the board of News Corp, citing strategic differences as well as “disagreements over certain editorial content published by the company’s press organs.” After competing for the presidency of the group after Lachlan’s departure, this cultural enthusiast and former head of a rap record label found it difficult to assume the increasingly conservative line of his company.
“James did not approve of the group’s support for Donald Trump or the climate-skeptical ideology of Fox News,” said David Colon, associate professor of history at IEP in Paris and author of the book “Rupert Murdoch: L’impereur des médias qui manipulate the world.” “James’ departure from the media confirmed the return of Lachlan, who is more compatible with Trump than his brother,” he added.
Business before family?
Despite professional differences with his father, Rupert Murdoch’s eldest son does not have the same reservations regarding the ideology transmitted by the family business. Behind the relaxed appearance of him and the tribal tattoos on him, Lachlan Murdoch is a fervent conservative on economic and moral issues. In April 2022, in a rare public speech, the president and CEO of Fox Corporation denounced the “elites” guilty of disregarding traditional values and the “technological censors” who guarantee the hegemony of the dominant discourse.
“Lachlan shares with his father a series of conservative convictions. He is liberal and libertarian. But, above all, he understands that ideology comes before business. For him, as for his father, the objective of politics is before everything favors the interests of the family empire,” said Colon.
Although son and father now seem to be on the same page, one question remains unanswered: Will Lachlan Murdoch really have a free hand when he takes the helm of the group? For analyst David Colon, there is no doubt that the real boss remains Rupert Murdoch.
“At his advanced age, this transfer is a way to protect himself. He is no longer on the front line, especially in the event of a new trial. That does not mean that he is willing to let go of the reins. It is very likely that Lachlan will continue to evolve at his shadow until his death,” he added.
As president emeritus, Rupert Murdoch retains four of the eight votes of the family holding company. But his death would not necessarily simplify Lachlan’s task, since his father already arranged for his children to have the same voting rights in company decisions.
While Rupert Murdoch built his legacy by pursuing traditional businesses such as television, film and newspapers, Lachlan’s legacy is still under construction. On calls with investors, he often perks up when he talks about Tubi, an ad-supported streaming service that the company acquired for $440 million in 2020 and is now valued at $3 billion.
Lachlan’s family lives in Sydney, Australia, and he commutes to Los Angeles, where Fox is based.
Originally published in French by David Rich, adapted by Jorge Hurtado.
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