Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old media magnate, on Thursday, announced that he is stepping down as leader of both Fox's parent company and his News Corp media holdings. Murdoch announced that his son Lachlan Murdoch would take over as News Corp chairman and continue as chief executive officer of Fox Corp.
Wall Street Journal and the New York Post come under Murdoch's News Corp media holdings. Murdoch would become chairman emeritus of both companies.
So, who is Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert's eldest son and successor? 52-year-old Lachlan graduated from Princeton University in 1992. He is one of Rupert Murdoch's three children from his second marriage to Scottish journalist Anna Maria dePeyster. After Princeton, Lachlan spent a lot of his time in Australia, managing his father's business.
In 2005, Lachlan left News Corp after a feud with Fox News' then-boss, Roger Ailes. He then set up an Australian investment firm which invested money into various media and marketing companies, and even an Indian Premier League cricket team, BBC reported. Lachlan returned to his father's empire in 2014.
In 2015, Lachlan and his brother James were named co-chairmen of 20th Century Fox, the film studio. In 2019, the studio was sold to Disney and in 2020, James Murdoch quit the News Corp board, saying that he was leaving "due to disagreements over certain editorial content" and "certain other strategic decisions".
With Lachlan's job, comes the troubled task of handling Fox News' complicated relationship with former president Donald Trump. Trump has appeared on Fox News several times, but, has also repeatedly criticised the network. Lachlan and his father Rupert are no fans of Trump. However, if the Republican party does back Trump as a presidential candidate, Fox News will support him.
The Australian Financial Review recently placed Lachlan 33rd on their list of the country's richest people, with a total fortune of A$3.35 billion ($2.1 billion), according to a BBC report.
Lachlan, in an interview, has said, that every morning before heading to school, he and his siblings were 'ordered' to read newspapers-- The New York Post, The New York Times, the Daily News and the Wall Street Journal by their father Rupert Murdoch and that Rupert would flag the stories that were of interest.
Growing up, Lachlan spent summers spend summers working in the family business, cleaning the presses for Sydney’s “Daily Mirror,” or working as a cub reporter for the “San Antonio Express-News.” in 1999, Lachlan took over responsibility for print operations in the US He went on to become deputy chief operating officer at News Corp.