The Fin Bonus episode - Lachlan Murdoch's $5b succession
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Sep 9, 2025 Sam Buckingham-Jones, Media Reporter at The Australian Financial Review, dissects Lachlan Murdoch's monumental $5 billion settlement, securing control of the family’s media empire. He walks listeners through the tumultuous legal battles that shaped this outcome and the complex family dynamics within the Murdoch clan. Buckingham-Jones explores the implications for News Corp and Fox, the emotional toll on family relationships, and how these changes might influence the future of media under Lachlan's leadership.
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Lachlan Buys Out His Siblings
- Lachlan will pay about US$3.3bn (A$5bn) to buy out Prudence, Elizabeth and James and remove them from the businesses entirely.
- The payout forces them to relinquish shares and bars them from repurchasing stakes, ending their involvement.
New Trusts Solve Governance Risk
- The settlement creates new trusts that package shares for sale and for Lachlan to buy, circumventing the old Murdoch Family Trust governance problem.
- Lachlan secures control by buying siblings' shares and placing remaining parcels on the public market.
Younger Daughters Back Lachlan Financially
- Grace and Chloe Deng join a separate family trust controlled by Rupert and Lachlan but hold only economic stakes, not voting power.
- Their support aligns them financially with Lachlan while keeping operational control concentrated.