Lachlan Murdoch
Lachlan Keith Murdoch (born 8 September 1971) is a British-born Australian and American media executive who serves as Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Corporation and Chairman of News Corp, the two publicly traded companies that control his family's global media empire. The eldest son of billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan emerged victorious in a bitter family succession battle in 2025 that secured his control of the Murdoch empire - which includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and media properties across four continents - until at least 2050.
With a net worth estimated at $2.7 billion in 2024, Lachlan Murdoch has spent three decades navigating the complexities of both the family business and his relationship with his legendary father. After leaving News Corp in 2005 following a power struggle with Fox News chief Roger Ailes, he spent nearly a decade building his own investment portfolio in Australia before returning in 2014 to eventually assume his father's mantle.
Murdoch's tenure has been marked by the largest defamation settlement in American history - a $787.5 million payment to Dominion Voting Systems over Fox News's coverage of false 2020 election fraud claims - and ongoing litigation that has placed the network's business practices under intense scrutiny.
Early life and education
Lachlan Keith Murdoch was born on 8 September 1971 at Wimbledon Hospital in Wimbledon, London, England. He is the eldest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his second wife, Anna Murdoch Mann (née Torv), a Scottish-born journalist and novelist. His parents met when Anna was a young reporter at the Sydney Daily Mirror, one of Rupert's Australian newspapers.
When Lachlan was three years old, his family relocated to New York City, where his father had acquired the New York Post. He was raised primarily in Manhattan alongside his younger siblings, Elisabeth (born 1968) and James (born 1972). Lachlan also has an older half-sister, Prudence MacLeod (born 1958), from his father's first marriage to Patricia Booker.
Education
Murdoch received an eclectic education across multiple institutions. He attended the Aspen Country Day School in Aspen, Colorado, before moving to prestigious Manhattan schools including the Dalton School and Trinity School. He completed his secondary education at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, one of America's oldest and most selective boarding schools.
In 1994, Murdoch graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor's degree in philosophy - the same subject his father's rival Carl Icahn had studied at Princeton four decades earlier. The philosophical training would later inform his approach to business strategy and corporate governance.
Career
Early career at News Corp (1994-2005)
Immediately after graduating from Princeton, Murdoch joined the family business. At age 22, he was hired by Queensland Newspapers in Australia to serve as general manager, overseeing Brisbane's Courier-Mail. The posting was intended to give him hands-on experience in the newspaper industry away from his father's immediate shadow.
Murdoch rose quickly through the ranks of News Limited, the holding company for Rupert Murdoch's Australian properties. By his late twenties, he had become chairman of News Limited and was being groomed as his father's successor.
In the early 2000s, Murdoch moved to New York to take on a broader role at News Corporation, becoming Deputy Chief Operating Officer. In this position, he was directly responsible for two-thirds of the company's global revenue, with specific oversight of U.S. Television stations and publishing assets. At age 34, he was the third most powerful executive in the company.
Departure and "exile" (2005-2014)
In July 2005, Murdoch abruptly resigned from News Corporation and returned to Australia with his wife and young son. The departure followed a bitter power struggle with Roger Ailes, the controversial head of Fox News Channel, with whom Rupert Murdoch had sided.
According to journalist Paddy Manning, author of The Successor: The High Stakes Life of Lachlan Murdoch (2022), Lachlan left because he felt his father had sided with Ailes against him. The move was widely interpreted as a form of voluntary exile from the family business.
Illyria Pty Ltd
With a two-year non-compete agreement in hand, Murdoch founded Illyria Pty Ltd in 2005, an Australian private investment company. The name was a nod to Shakespeare - Illyria is the setting for Twelfth Night - reflecting the literary interests of the Murdoch family.
Through Illyria, Murdoch built a diverse investment portfolio:
- NOVA Entertainment - Acquired a 50% stake in 2009, later increasing to 100% ownership of Australia's largest metropolitan radio network
- Rajasthan Royals - Stake in the Indian Premier League cricket franchise
- Ten Network Holdings - Served as acting CEO in 2011 and non-executive chairman from 2012
- Destra - Investment in the digital media company
- Quickflix - Stake in the online DVD rental service
The Illyria years demonstrated that Murdoch could succeed as an investor and executive independent of his father's empire, building credibility that would serve him well upon his return.
Return to News Corp (2014-present)
In 2014, Murdoch returned to the family fold, taking senior positions at the newly split News Corp and 21st Century Fox. The following year, he became executive chairman of 21st Century Fox, sharing the role with his father.
Fox Corporation
In March 2019, following Disney's $71.3 billion acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets, Murdoch became Chairman and CEO of the newly formed Fox Corporation. The "New Fox" retained the assets Disney was barred from acquiring for antitrust reasons: Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Sports, and the Fox broadcast network.
In September 2023, when 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch announced his retirement from day-to-day management, Lachlan officially assumed full control as sole chairman of both Fox Corporation and News Corp.
As CEO of Fox Corporation, Murdoch oversees a company with annual revenues exceeding $14 billion. His compensation in 2024 was approximately $29 million.
Dominion settlement and controversies
Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit
Murdoch's leadership faced its greatest test in the defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News. Dominion alleged that Fox News had knowingly broadcast false claims that its voting machines had been used to steal the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump.
The lawsuit produced damaging internal communications showing that Fox executives and hosts privately dismissed the election fraud claims they were broadcasting publicly. A Delaware court found that there was a "reasonable inference" that both Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch "either knew Dominion had not manipulated the election or at least recklessly disregarded the truth."
Evidence presented in court suggested that Lachlan feared alienating core Fox News viewers - pro-Trump conservatives - by confronting them with the facts that President Joe Biden had won the election.
On April 18, 2023, just as the trial was about to begin, Fox agreed to pay Dominion $787.5 million - the largest settlement in American defamation history. The settlement was "100% driven by Lachlan as the CEO of Fox Corp," according to reports, with Murdoch concluding it was "best for the company from a fiduciary standpoint."
Speaking to investors afterward, Murdoch offered no apology for Fox's coverage, instead characterizing the network as having "always acted as a news organization reporting on the newsworthy events of the day." He called the settlement "clearly in the best interests of the company and its shareholders."
Dropped Australian defamation suit
In August 2022, Murdoch filed a personal defamation lawsuit against Crikey, an Australian news site, over an article suggesting he and others at Fox were "complicit" in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Three days after the Dominion settlement, Murdoch quietly dropped the suit.
Ongoing litigation
Fox continues to face a separate defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic USA Inc., which seeks more than $2 billion in damages over similar election fraud coverage.
Fox shareholders have also sued the company's board, including Lachlan Murdoch, alleging that executives "consciously prioritized profits over legal compliance" by allowing defamatory content to air. A Delaware court ruled the case could proceed, finding a "substantial likelihood" of liability.
Family succession battle
The family trust
In 1999, as part of his divorce settlement with Anna Murdoch Mann, Rupert Murdoch established an irrevocable family trust giving his four eldest children - Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan, and James - equal control of and equity in the family's 28.5% stake in News Corp upon his death.
The trust, which controls approximately 40% of voting shares in both News Corp and Fox Corporation, was designed to ensure the siblings would jointly determine the empire's future.
"Project Harmony"
In 2024, it was revealed that Rupert Murdoch had secretly attempted to amend the family trust through a plan nicknamed "Project Harmony." The goal was to strip James, Elisabeth, and Prudence of their equal voting rights and consolidate control with Lachlan, whom Rupert viewed as the only child who shared his conservative political vision.
James Murdoch had become an increasingly vocal critic of Fox News's direction, particularly its coverage of the January 6 Capitol siege, support for President Trump, and dismissal of climate change. Elisabeth and Prudence, while less publicly outspoken, were seen as more politically moderate than Lachlan.
Court battle and settlement
When James, Elisabeth, and Prudence learned of Project Harmony, they joined forces to block the move in Nevada probate court. A Nevada commissioner ruled against Rupert Murdoch, calling the secret maneuvers "a carefully crafted charade" and "an abuse of discretion."
In September 2025, the family reached a settlement that gave Lachlan full control. Under the terms:
- James, Elisabeth, and Prudence each received approximately $1.1 billion to surrender their shares in Fox Corporation and News Corp
- The original family trust was dissolved and a new one created with Lachlan in sole control
- Rupert Murdoch's two youngest daughters from his third marriage, Grace and Chloe Murdoch, became equal financial beneficiaries but with no voting rights
The settlement ensures Lachlan will control the Murdoch media empire until at least 2050, with the ability to keep Fox News and other properties politically conservative.
Personal life
Marriage to Sarah Murdoch
In 1999, Murdoch married Sarah O'Hare, an Australian model and television presenter. The couple met the previous year aboard a yacht in Sydney Harbour, introduced by fashion designer Collette Dinnigan.
Sarah, born in England and raised in Sydney, had studied ballet at The McDonald College of Performing Arts before beginning her modeling career at age 17. She became one of Australia's most successful international models, working for Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel, Valentino, Oscar de la Renta, and appearing in campaigns for L'Oréal, Revlon, Ralph Lauren, and Estée Lauder. She graced covers of Vogue, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar and appeared in the 1999 and 2003 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issues.
Their wedding at Cavan Station in New South Wales was a lavish affair befitting two dynasties - one built on modeling, the other on media.
Children
Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch have three children:
- Kalan Alexander Murdoch (born 2004)
- Aidan Patrick Murdoch (born 2006)
- Aerin Elisabeth Murdoch (born 2010)
Residences
In 2021, the family made a decision to relocate from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia, largely influenced by Sarah's desire for a lifestyle better suited to raising their children. The family resides in Bellevue Hill, one of Sydney's most exclusive suburbs.
Lachlan splits his time between Sydney and Los Angeles, where Fox Corporation is headquartered, commuting regularly between the two cities - a distance of approximately 7,500 miles.
Philanthropy
Sarah Murdoch has been deeply involved in charitable work, serving as Patron of the National Breast Cancer Foundation Australia for over eighteen years. She is an ambassador and board member for the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Australia's largest child health research center.
In 2020, Lachlan and Sarah established a $5 million endowment for the Murdoch Children's Research Institute to support pediatric research.
In 2023, the couple donated $1 million to Qtopia, a queer museum in Sydney's former Darlinghurst Police Station - a gift that raised eyebrows given Fox News's often-criticized coverage of LGBTQ+ issues.
See also
References