Rupert Murdoch's 'Succession' court battle begins

Reuters

A court battle to determine the future of Rupert Murdoch's media empire and a £14.9bn family trust begins on Monday.

The case will pit 93-year-old Mr Murdoch against three of his eldest children over who will gain the most voting shares and power to control News Corp and Fox News when the billionaire dies.

It has been reported that Mr Murdoch wanted to amend a family trust created in 1999 so that son Lachlan could take control without "interference" from his siblings Prudence, Elisabeth and James.

The famous family was one of the inspirations behind the hugely popular TV series Succession - something the Murdochs have always refused to comment on.

Mr Murdoch has two other children called Grace and Chloe and has been married five times.

From the 1960s, Mr Murdoch built up his media empire into a globe-spanning media giant with major political and public influence.

His two companies are News Corporation, which owns newspapers including The Times and The Sun in the UK and the Wall Street Journal in the US, and Fox, which broadcasts Fox News.

Mr Murdoch had been preparing his two sons to follow in his footsteps, beginning when they were teens, journalist Andrew Neil told the 2020 BBC documentary The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty.

The former Sunday Times editor said: "Family has always been very important to Rupert Murdoch, particularly from the point of view of forming a dynasty.

In 1999, the Murdoch Family Trust, which owns the media companies, was supposed to largely settle the succession plans.

It led to Mr Murdoch giving his eldest children various jobs within his companies.

However, differences in opinions and political views were said to lead to a family rift.

The media mogul stepped down as Fox and News Corp chairman in favour of Lachlan, who reportedly shares the same right-wing views as his father.

This has reportedly led to James, Elisabeth and Prudence, uniting and "fighting back".