Tamasin Perkins writes for Wealth Briefing on lessons learned from Rupert Murdoch’s legal battle with his children

Rupert Murdoch has been revisiting his succession planning, to the chagrin of at least three of his children and in ways that could impact global politics in years to come. 

As a multibillionaire, patriarch of the Murdoch family and founder owner of News Corp and Fox Corporation, Rupert Murdoch’s legacy arrangements were never going to be straightforward. Murdoch is now 93 years old; he has recently married his fifth wife and he has six children who vary in age from their 20s to their 50s and who vary from having no interest in the family business to being its CEO.

Succession planning has long been in Murdoch’s mind. He previously created an irrevocable family trust that gave each of his six children an equal interest in the business and voting rights (one vote each) to his four eldest children. This would have meant consensus would have to be reached between the children for all key decisions about the family business – he created a democracy, but also a serious risk of impasse.

Now, reports suggest that Murdoch intends to alter the “irrevocable” trust arrangement so that Lachlan, Murdoch’s eldest son – chairman and CEO of the Fox Corporation with a shared political outlook and vision with his father – has been marked out as the chosen successor. Lachlan will have increased voting rights and be able to secure a majority

Perhaps unsurprisingly with so much at stake, Murdoch’s decision has reportedly been challenged by three of his children in the Nevada Courts. 

In an article for Wealth Briefing, Tamasin Perkins, Private Wealth Disputes Partner, outlines how this process provides useful legal lessons for others who may be negotiating that path.

In the article she addresses:

• Tackling issues head-on
• Having the right team in place
• Keeping wider stakeholders in mind
• Being flexible

Read the full piece in Wealth Briefing here.