You’ve probably seen the HBO show Succession. You know, the one where wealthy siblings stab each other in the back while a terrifying patriarch watches from a leather-bound chair? It’s great TV. But the real-life version is actually happening, and it’s arguably more intense. When people ask who are the Murdochs, they aren't just asking about a rich family. They're asking about the architects of the modern global news cycle.
Keith Rupert Murdoch—everyone just calls him Rupert—didn’t just inherit a couple of newspapers in Australia and get lucky. He built a machine. A massive, loud, influential machine that spans continents. From the New York Post to The Sun and, of course, the titan that is Fox News, this family has had its hands on the steering wheel of public opinion for over half a century.
But here’s the thing. It’s not just about Rupert anymore. He’s 94. The "who" in who are the Murdochs is now a shifting puzzle of children, ex-wives, and high-stakes legal battles over a family trust that could decide the future of conservative media forever.
From Adelaide to Manhattan: How it All Started
Rupert Murdoch didn't start from zero, but he wasn't born a billionaire either. His father, Sir Keith Murdoch, was a respected Australian war correspondent and later a regional newspaper publisher. When Keith died in 1952, Rupert was just 21. He inherited the Adelaide News.
Most 21-year-olds would have sold it or let a manager run it. Not Rupert.
He was aggressive. He loved the "sensational." He realized early on that if you give people blood, guts, and celebrity gossip, they’ll buy the paper. Then you can use the editorial page to tell them who to vote for. Simple, right? It worked. He expanded across Australia, then moved to the UK in the 60s, buying The News of the World and The Sun.
He turned The Sun into a tabloid powerhouse. Page 3 girls. Screaming headlines. It was brash. It was "working class" in a way the stodgy British establishment hated. And Rupert loved that they hated it.
By the time he hit the US in the 70s, he was ready for a bigger stage. He bought the New York Post in 1976. If you’ve ever seen a Post headline like "Headless Body in Topless Bar," you’ve seen the Murdoch DNA in action. It’s punchy. It’s visceral. It gets a reaction.
The Fox News Pivot
In 1996, Rupert made his biggest gamble. He teamed up with Roger Ailes to launch Fox News. At the time, CNN was the only real player in 24-hour cable news. People thought Rupert was crazy. "Who wants more news?" they asked.
Rupert knew the answer: People who felt the existing news didn't speak to them.
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Fox News wasn't just a channel; it was a cultural identity. It became the most-watched cable news network in America and stayed there for decades. It gave the Murdochs a direct line to the White House. Whether it was George W. Bush or Donald Trump, the family’s influence over the Republican party became absolute.
The Heirs: Meet the Kids
If you want to know who are the Murdochs, you have to look at the second generation. Rupert has six children, but the drama mostly centers on the three from his second marriage to Anna Maria Torv: Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan, and James.
Lachlan Murdoch is the "chosen one" right now. He’s the Chairman of News Corp and the Executive Chair and CEO of Fox Corporation. He’s generally seen as more aligned with his father’s conservative views. He likes the outdoors, lives in Australia quite a bit, and seems content to keep the Fox ship sailing in its current direction.
Then there’s James.
James was once the heir apparent. He’s tech-savvy, younger, and—this is the big one—politically different from his dad. James and his wife, Kathryn, are big into climate change activism and centrist/liberal causes. In 2020, James officially resigned from the News Corp board, citing "disagreements over certain editorial content." Basically, he couldn't stomach the direction of the family business anymore.
Elisabeth is the entrepreneur. She built a massive TV production company called Shine (they did MasterChef and The Biggest Loser) and sold it back to her dad’s company for a fortune. She’s often described as the smartest of the bunch, but she’s stayed largely out of the direct line of succession.
Prudence is the eldest from the second marriage and has mostly stayed out of the business, though she still holds an equal vote in the family trust.
The Secret Battle for the Future
Right now, as of early 2026, there is a literal legal war happening behind closed doors in a Reno, Nevada courtroom. It sounds like a movie plot, but it's real.
The Murdoch Family Trust is what controls the empire. Currently, the trust is set up so that when Rupert dies, his four oldest children (Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan, and James) get equal voting rights.
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Rupert is trying to change that.
He wants to ensure that Lachlan stays in control and that the other three can’t "outvote" him and move Fox News to a more moderate or centrist position. Rupert argues that keeping the brand conservative is essential for its commercial value. James, Elisabeth, and Prudence are fighting back. They want their say.
This isn't just a family squabble. It’s a fight over whether the most influential conservative media outlet in the Western world stays the way it is or undergoes a massive "re-centering" once Rupert is gone.
Why It Matters to You
You might think, "I don't watch Fox News, why should I care?"
You should care because the Murdochs don't just own a TV station. They own the Wall Street Journal. They own HarperCollins, one of the biggest book publishers in the world. They own Sky News Australia. Their reach is horizontal and vertical.
When a Murdoch outlet decides to focus on a specific issue—whether it's border security, climate change skepticism, or a specific political candidate—the rest of the media follows. They set the "topic of the day."
Myths vs. Reality
People often get a few things wrong when discussing who are the Murdochs.
First, there's the idea that they are a monolithic block. They aren't. This family is fractured. They spend Christmas apart. They sue each other. It’s a mess.
Second, there’s the myth that Rupert is just a puppet master for the GOP. It’s actually more of a symbiotic relationship. Rupert has turned on Republican leaders before when he felt they were no longer "winners." He’s a pragmatist at heart. He wants power and he wants profit. If a politician helps him get those, he’s their best friend. If not? He’ll find someone else.
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Third, people forget the scandals. Remember the 2011 phone-hacking scandal in the UK? Reporters at The News of the World were hacking the voicemails of murder victims and celebrities. It was a massive crisis that forced Rupert to shut down a 168-year-old newspaper and testify before Parliament. He called it "the most humble day of my life." But he survived it. The family always seems to survive.
The Current Landscape: 2026 and Beyond
Today, the empire is leaner. Rupert sold a huge chunk of 21st Century Fox to Disney a few years back for $71 billion. That deal made the Murdoch kids incredibly wealthy—we're talking billions each—but it also signaled that Rupert was getting out of the "entertainment" business (movies, scripted TV) to double down on what he does best: Live news and sports.
Lachlan is now the face of the company, but the shadow of the Nevada court case looms over everything. If the "moderate" siblings win, the Fox News we know today could look very different by 2030.
Honesty time: It’s hard to overstate the impact of this one family. You can trace the roots of Brexit, the rise of the Tea Party, and the polarization of American politics directly back to editorial rooms controlled by the Murdochs.
Moving Past the Headlines
Understanding who are the Murdochs requires looking at more than just the net worth. It’s about understanding the intersection of media, power, and family trauma.
If you want to stay informed about how this affects your world, don't just read one source. Here are some actionable ways to track the Murdoch influence without getting sucked into the bias:
- Check the Byline: When reading the Wall Street Journal or the New York Post, look at who is writing. The WSJ newsroom is world-class and often very different from its editorial board.
- Follow the Trust Case: Keep an eye on reporting from outlets like The New York Times or The Guardian regarding the Murdoch trust legal battle in Nevada. The outcome will dictate the next 20 years of media.
- Watch the Disclosures: If you are an investor, look at News Corp (NWSA) and Fox Corp (FOXA) filings. The "Risk Factors" section of their annual reports often mentions family control as a specific risk to shareholders.
- Diversify Your Feed: Use tools like Ground News to see how Murdoch-owned outlets cover a story compared to others. It’s the best way to spot the "Murdoch spin" in real-time.
The Murdoch story isn't over. As long as Rupert is breathing, he’s in charge. But the earthquake is coming, and when it does, the media landscape will never be the same.
To really grasp the weight of this, you have to stop seeing them as characters in a drama and start seeing them as the people who decide what millions of people believe to be true every single morning. That's the real power. That's the real story of the Murdochs.