Rupert Murdoch’s youngest daughters linked to succession battle

As Rupert Murdoch prepares to do battle with three of his own children in a Nevada courtroom this week on behalf of his eldest son, Lachlan, two more of the media mogul’s offspring will remain on the sidelines.

But inside his empire, speculation is mounting over the role his young daughters Grace, 22, and Chloe, 21, could play in the climax of his succession drama.

Rupert Murdoch with his daughters Chloe (second from left) and Grace, and their mother, Wendi, in New York in 2019.Credit: Getty Images

Murdoch has applied to amend the terms of an “irrevocable” trust that hands his four children from his first two marriages an equal say in the control of his businesses after his death.

The 93-year-old aims to put the future of News Corp and Fox entirely in the hands of Lachlan, 53, whose robust right-wing politics closely match his own.

Meanwhile, Prudence, 66, Elizabeth, 56 and James, 51, have more moderate instincts and the numbers on the trust to push influential outlets such as Fox News in a new direction after their father departs.

The dispute has gripped the media industry and will this week frustrate it, as an attempt by news organisations to gain access to the private hearings was rebuffed by the court on Friday.

The irony of a tabloid buccaneer such as Murdoch seeking secrecy in a family matter has been widely noted.

Grace and Chloe, the children of Murdoch and his former wife Wendi Deng, whose marriage ended in 2013, share equal financial status to their half siblings but have no voting rights under the trust.

Nevertheless, News Corp sources said their involvement could form a crucial leg of Murdoch’s attempt to persuade the court that changing the rules would be in the best financial interests of all beneficiaries.

Each of the Murdoch children has already received $US2 billion from the 2018 sale of the Fox film studio to Disney. This week’s court wrangling could mark the first time Murdoch’s youngest children have become embroiled in the operatic saga over who would ultimately inherit his control over Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The Times, The Sun and a host of Australian newspapers.

Fox and News Corp shareholders sense the end of an era and an opportunity to break the family’s hold over the businesses. Starboard Value, an activist and top 10 shareholder in News Corp, has said the special class of shares that grant the trust control should be abolished on Murdoch’s death.

“There are no reasonable arguments to extend super-voting rights and de facto control to the inheritors of a founder,” Starboard told News Corp in a letter published last week.

Analysts have estimated that News Corp’s assets, which include growing property data businesses in the US and Australia, could be as much as $10 billion more than the company’s $10 billion stock market valuation.

Rupert Murdoch retains a loyal following among some investors, presenting Starboard’s campaign with a tall order, but it is being taken seriously.

Just a few days ago, News Corp sought to pour cold water on rumours it bid up to £90 million ($176 million) for The Spectator magazine in an auction it ultimately lost to hedge fund investor Sir Paul Marshall. A much more rational and shareholder-friendly £40 million was all the Murdoch team tabled, it was claimed.

Murdoch’s famous competitive muscles still twitch, however. Already, News Corp is exploring plans to launch a new digital-only rival to The Spectator, company sources said. The new opinion-led title would bring together writers from the group’s outlets around the world.

Yet regardless of the outcome in Nevada, or of Starboard’s campaign, the Murdoch empire’s future is likely to be less about news.

As the family fights it out, News Corp’s Australian property arm REA has mounted a £5.6 billion bid for Britain’s dominant property website Rightmove.

Murdoch’s representative was contacted for comment.

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The Telegraph, London