# Lachlan Murdoch The heir who won the empire. Lachlan Murdoch became chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation and chairman of News Corp in September 2023 when [[Rupert Murdoch]] stepped back at age 92 — inheriting the most powerful conservative media operation in the world just months after it paid $787.5 million to settle the Dominion defamation lawsuit. His response to that settlement — no apology, no programming changes, "no change" promised to investors — revealed that the business model Rupert and [[Roger Ailes]] built is now understood by its inheritor as permanent and non-negotiable. ## Background Born September 8, 1971, in Wimbledon, London. Raised in New York City from age three. Princeton University (BA in philosophy, 1994). Unlike his siblings — James (who pushed for editorial accountability) and Elisabeth (who built her own media career) — Lachlan aligned early with his father's editorial instincts and has been the most ideologically comfortable with Fox News's rightward trajectory. ## Career at Fox Worked at various News Corp properties in Australia before joining Fox in the U.S. Served as Deputy Chief Operating Officer of News Corporation. Left the company in 2005 after tensions with other executives, then returned in 2014 as co-chairman of 21st Century Fox alongside his brother James. When 21st Century Fox sold its entertainment assets to Disney in 2019, Lachlan became the CEO of the remaining Fox Corporation (Fox News, Fox Sports, Fox broadcast network). ## The Dominion Era Dominion's discovery process revealed that Lachlan played "a hands-on role in determining the political thrust of Fox News in favour of Trump." He was a named defendant in the $1.6 billion lawsuit. Key revelations from discovery: - Lachlan was aware of internal concerns about Fox's 2020 election coverage - He participated in decisions about how to handle the tension between editorial responsibility and audience retention - The settlement was structured so that Fox acknowledged the court's finding that its statements about Dominion were false — but issued no on-air apology After the settlement, Lachlan told investors Fox's programming strategy would not change. Fox fired [[Tucker Carlson]] one week later — but replaced him with [[Jesse Watters]], maintaining the same primetime formula. ## The Succession Settlement (2025) In September 2025, Lachlan struck a deal with siblings Prudence, Elisabeth, and James to buy out their shares in both Fox Corp and News Corp, ensuring Lachlan would control both companies after Rupert's death. This ended a years-long family succession battle and consolidated the empire under the sibling most aligned with Fox News's current editorial direction. ## See Also - [[Fox News]] — The network he now controls - [[Rupert Murdoch]] — Father, founder, predecessor - [[Tucker Carlson]] — The host he fired after Dominion - [[Suzanne Scott]] — Fox News CEO who runs day-to-day operations under Lachlan