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All My Children

The Murdoch family’s long-running power struggle ended with Lachlan establishing control of Fox and News Corp, underscoring Rupert’s enduring leverage—and leaving James estranged, still defined by opposition to his father’s empire.

Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch
The Murdoch succession plot had long been a media preoccupation, and one that has endured despite the company’s declining stature. But in truth, the notion of a serious bakeoff between the two heirs belied deeper familial dynamics. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Dylan Byers
September 10, 2025

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Back in 2017, when Rupert Murdoch and Bob Iger met in Bel Air for the conversation that would ultimately beget the $71.3 billion sale of Fox’s entertainment assets to Disney—the famed “wine summit” now enshrined in the annals of media M&A history—Murdoch betrayed a candid and unsparing assessment of his sons Lachlan and James, both of whom had long been vying to inherit their father’s throne. According to two sources, the then-86-year-old media baron told Iger, in no uncertain terms, that neither Lachlan nor James was really capable of running the business without him.