For many of those years the favorite was Lachlan. For observers of matters dynastic, this must have been a tough decision. On the one hand, he had the very considerable advantage of being male, but on the other his sister Elisabeth had the temerity to be born before him. However, in July 2005 Lachlan resigned from his position with News Corp and ventured to Sydney, partly, according to reports, under pressure from his Australian wife Sarah and partly, according to an unnamed “executive who has worked with him” quoted in the Financial Times , because “he looked in the mirror and decided he did not like what he saw.” In the eyes of many, this ruled Lachlan out of serious contention, and when, in December of last year, James Murdoch, Lachlan’s younger brother, stepped down from his position as chief executive of Murdoch’s BSkyB in order to take control of all News Corp European and Asian operations, many thought that was game over. Especially as in 2001 Elisabeth had resigned as managing director of BSkyB following a very public falling out with Rupert’s appointee, Sam Chisholm. So, James is now a shoe-in to succeed Peter Chernin when the chief operating officer of News Corp’s contract expires in 2009, right? Well, the answer has to be an unequivocal, “hmm, well, maybe.” Quite a lot can be said of News Corp’s old chairman and chief executive, but even sticking to comments unlikely to children, no mention being made of the progeny of his relationship with Wendi Deng. Which is just as well as the trust was established as part of the divorce settlement between Rupert and his second wife Anna, mother of Elisabeth, Lachlan and James, in which she gave up a stake in her ex-husband’s fortune to secure control of News Corp for her children. Two other things are undeniably true of Rupert’s personal relationships, and of the careers of the three children in question. Of the first, it has to be acknowledged that he is intensely loyal to those loyal to him, and of the second, it has been his habit to move his brood around his business empire. Usually, and probably correctly, this has been seen as a reflection of his desire for them to learn all aspects of the business. Elisabeth has run a major pay-TV made aware of an anointed one. There is a quote given by Rupert in a 1997 book, at the time when the received wisdom was that Lachlan was the chosen one. “He will be,” said Rupert, “first among equals, but they will all have to prove themselves.” It would be difficult for anyone to argue that any of the three children in question had failed to prove themselves, and so maybe, just maybe, the game of “Spot the Heir,” is a fool’s errand. Maybe, there isn’t a single Murdoch heir; maybe it’s a three-way split. Elisabeth Murdoch, chairman and CEO of Shine Group, will be the keynote speaker at this MIP-TV. She declined to comment for this story. V I D E O • A G E AP R I L 2 0 0 8 (Continued from Cover) Murdoch Family Values 50 Elisabeth Murdoch attract legal action, one can safely say that he can be capricious. Just look at his takeover of the then-Sky Television. By all accounts this was a move undertaken without any market research at a time when subscribers to British pay-TV operations were as numerous as sausage rolls at a bar mitzvah, and was one, which led to a hemorrhaging of cash that would have caused those of lesser constitutions to nuke the satellite. And it is a mistake to think that Rupert has severed the link with Lachlan or Elisabeth. Lachlan remains on the board of News Corp, and is retained as a company advisor, and in January of this year BSkyB upped its stake in Elisabeth’s Shine Group from 2.88 percent to 11.3 percent. Nor is that all. In February of this year, Rupert gave all six of his scions U.S.$100 million each in News Corp’s shares. This generous gift was made via the Murdoch Family Trust, the body through which the 76-year-old controls News Corp. At the time of the announcement a statement confirmed that it was Rupert’s intention to pass control of the trust to his four adult James Murdoch News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch Lachlan Murdoch operation, and now runs a major independent production company. Lachlan has run newspapers and freeto-air broadcasters in the U.S., and is now, through his privately owned Illyana’s A$3.3 billion deal with James Packer, son of onetime Rupert rival Kerry Packer, learning the casino business. And James Murdoch is combining Elisabeth’s experiences with the earlier one of his older brother, as in addition to the pay-TV operations in Europe and Asia, he assumes control of News Corp’s British newspaper titles. So, is Rupert actually thinking that all three might have close to an equal role in his succession? The evidence is slim. But then that is true of speculation as to all of the possible options in the question of the Murdoch succession. But if there is little hard evidence of Rupert’s intentions in this matter, there is also very little evidence of any of the acrimony that one might have expected had the family been Is Rupert actually thinking that all three might have close to an equal role in his succession? The evidence is slim. But then that is true of speculation as to all of the possible options in the question of the Murdoch succession.
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