‘Petty grievances’ and an alleged troublemaker: unsealed Murdoch court documents give rare glimpse into bitter succession battle

A year ago, Rupert Murdoch resolved the long-running fight over which of his children would control his sprawling media empire, ending a bitter legal battle and anointing his eldest son, Lachlan, as his successor.Now, court documents have offered a rare glimpse into the family’s clashes before the decision, revealing the patriarch’s view of son James as a troublemaker who had to be ousted from the business and detailing tensions between Murdoch’s four eldest children and their airing of “petty grievances” about their father.A crucial decision by a Nevada judicial officer in late 2024, recently made public, exposes the friction among Murdoch’s heirs and includes direct references to the HBO drama series Succession, which was purportedly inspired by the media family.The reasoning of the probate commissioner, Edmund Gorman, sheds light on the motive behind Murdoch’s attempt to modify a family trust and put his eldest son, Lachlan, in charge of the media empire.The bitter legal battle ended when a deal was reached last year.Murdoch testified at length about his intended legacy, according to the Nevada decision, which he said included preserving Fox and News Corp as what he described as alternative conservative voices in the media.“They were great assets for the family and I thought they were important in the English-speaking world, certainly in the United States,” Murdoch said, according to comments included in the decision.In correspondence released to the court, the 95-year-old said it would be a disaster if the assets fell into the “wrong hands” and that Fox and News Corp’s voice were “essential for democracies”.Murdoch had encouraged Lachlan to buy out his siblings’ stakes as early as 2019 so he would take over after his father’s death. Each was willing to sell but Lachlan did not offer them enough money, the commissioner found.James drew heavy media attention when he quit the News board in July 2020, citing disagreements over editorial content. He had previously criticised coverage of climate change in the family’s outlets.According to the published decision, Murdoch told the court he believed James was “making trouble” and “creating speculation” about succession at the company.The Murdoch family interests include numerous media assets, including Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, The Times in the UK and a suite of mastheads in Australia including The Australian, news.com.au and News24 (formerly Sky).Murdoch told the court James should be cut off from the trust controlling the family stake in the companies because he and his sisters, Prudence and Elisabeth, had planned to oust Lachlan and change the companies’ direction after the patriarch’s death.Prudence, James and Elisabeth Murdoch arrive at court in Reno, Nevada, in September last year. Photograph: Alan Devall/ReutersAs evidence for the supposed scheme, Rupert cited a memo written by Elisabeth’s representative on the trust after watching the Succession episode where patriarch Logan Roy dies and his business is thrown into chaos. The commissioner found that memo in fact appeared to suggest appointing a mediator a to ensure a “sensible outcome”.Lachlan had fuelled Rupert’s “false assumption” about James’s behaviour and “falsely told his father, without proof” that James had spoken to Australian reporter Paddy Manning for his book The Successor, the commissioner found.Lachlan did not tell Rupert that his own lieutenant, the Australia Post chair Siobhan McKenna, had provided more than 14 hours of interviews for that book with Lachlan’s permission. The commissioner elsewhere said Lachlan had showed a “lack of candor with the parties and on the witness stand”.Fox did not respond when contacted for comment on behalf of Lachlan.Family historyThe court documents reveal the strain that had marked family dealings for some years, with each of the four older Murdoch siblings resigning from the family companies at least once. Rupert also has two other children – Chloe and Grace – with his third wife, Wendi Deng, who were not involved in the court case.The four older children spoke to a family counsellor in 2010 but Lachlan said the siblings “all ended up hating each other” after the process of airing their “petty grievances” against their father.Lachlan said James had “stormed out” after learning Murdoch wanted to replace him with Lachlan as chief executive of 21st Century Fox in 2015, resulting in a compromise that was a “disaster from day one”.Elisabeth told the court the family had last been on “relatively good speaking terms” after her 2017 wedding. She said the siblings all kept friendly relations except for Lachlan and James.On the morning of a December 2023 meeting to amend the trust and carry out the plan, Lachlan texted his sister: “Hey Lizzy. I really appreciate your support. Today is about Dad’s wishes and confirming all of our support for him and for his wishes. It shouldn’t be difficult or controversial. Love you, Lachlan”.Murdoch had said the amendments should be carried out because Lachlan was “committed to my legacy”.He added: “I love each of my children, and my support of Lachlan is not intended to suggest otherwise. But these companies need a designated leader and Lachlan is that leader.”The proposal failed, sparking court action, before the 2025 deal saw Lachlan secure control of the sprawling media empire after Elisabeth, James and Prudence received an estimated $US1.1bn each for their shares in the business.