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A Nevada commissioner denied Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to change his irrevocable trust and leave his conservative media empire under the sole control of his son, Lachlan, according to a report Monday.
The New York Times reported that Commissioner Edmund J. Gorman, Jr. issued a scathing ruling Saturday against Murdoch, who thought giving Lachlan full reign of his companies would guarantee their continued right-wing slant.
Commissioner Gorman called the attempt to change the trust a “carefully crafted charade” meant to “permanently cement Lachlan Murdoch’s executive roles” that was being done “regardless of the impacts such control would have over the companies or the beneficiaries” of his trust.
Murdoch’s lawyer told the Times he intends to appeal the decision, which still has to be ratified or rejected by a district judge.
The family’s current trust gives Murdoch’s four eldest children — Lachlan, James, Elisabeth, and Prudence — equal voting rights over the family’s media conglomerates after his death. The companies include Fox (FOXA-1.25%), the parent company of Fox News and the broadcast network Fox, and News Corp (NWSA+0.38%), the owner of the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and several newspapers and television stations in Australia and Britain.
Last year, it was revealed that Murdoch and three of his heirs — James, Elisabeth, and Prudence — were engaged in a secret legal battle over the future of his companies after Murdoch filed to change the terms of an irrevocable family trust. Although the trust was supposed to be inviolable, it included a provision that allowed amendments if they were done in good faith to benefit all of its members.
Murdoch, 93, argued that a “lack of consensus” among his heirs “would impact the strategic direction at both companies including a potential reorientation of editorial policy and content.” This, he said, gave him grounds to give Lachlan full control.
Both James and Elisabeth are less conservative than their father and Lachlan, which apparently sparked Murdoch’s concern for the future of his empire. In court, the aging business tycoon said keeping the right-wing politics of his outlets was essential to their financial success. James, Elisabeth, and Prudence were reportedly surprised by their father’s move to transfer control only to Lachlan.
Murdoch retired from Fox and News Corp last year. Lachlan is now the current chairman of News Corp and the executive chairman and CEO of Fox.
Additional reporting by Bruce Gil.