A court battle to determine the future of Rupert Murdoch's media empire and a £14.9bn family trust begins in the US on Monday, September 16, BBC reports. A probate court – a segment of the judicial system that oversees the execution of wills as well as the handling of estates, conservatorships, and guardianships – in Nevada is set to begin reviewing evidence behind closed doors in a case that could determine who will control Rupert Murdoch’s media empire after his death. Probate court ensures that a will is executed according to the wishes of the individual who has passed away. Reports indicate that 93-year-old Murdoch arrived at court on Monday for the hearing. Last year, he moved to change the terms of his irrevocable family trust in an effort to ensure that his eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, 53, remains in charge of his cadre of newspapers and television networks, including the Wall Street Journal and Fox News Channel, according to reporting by the New York Times based on a sealed court document. As reported, hearings in the case are scheduled to run through Tuesday of next week and the court has kept the hearings closed to the public and most documents sealed, largely rejecting requests for access by news organizations. Last year, it is reported, Murdoch moved to change the terms of his irrevocable family trust created in 1999 in an effort to ensure that his eldest son remains in charge of his newspapers and television networks, according to reporting by the New York Times based on a sealed court document. Apparently, his father’s wished to have it such that Lachlan could take control without interference from his siblings Prudence Murdoch MacLeod, 66, Elisabeth Murdoch, 56, and James Murdoch, 51. The trust was originally set up to give equal control over Murdoch’s businesses to his four oldest children upon his death, according to the Times. Murdoch who stepped down as leader of Fox News’s parent company and his News Corp media holdings last year is, reportedly, arguing that to preserve the commercial value of his businesses for all his heirs, the trust must be changed so Lachlan can ensure his newspapers and TV networks continue to have a conservative editorial outlook, the New York Times reported. Lachlan succeeded his father as chairman of News Corp in November. He is also executive officer at Fox Corp, home to the conservative news network Fox News, the Fox broadcast and sports networks, and local TV stations. The case will pit 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. The famous family was one of the inspirations behind the hugely popular TV series Succession - something the Murdochs have always refused to comment on. Murdoch, who has been married five times, also has two younger children, Grace Murdoch, 22, and Chloe Murdoch, 21, who do not have any voting rights under the trust agreement. “From what we know, this plan essentially seeks to put Prudence, James and Elisabeth on the same footing as Murdoch’s two younger daughters,” said Walter Marsh, an Australian journalist and author of the biography Young Rupert: The making of the Murdoch Empire. He added that all voting power could be handed over to Lachlan. From the 1960s, 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. 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. Family has always been very important to Rupert Murdoch, particularly from the point of view of forming a dynasty, the former Sunday Times editor said. Alice Enders, head of research at Enders Analysis, a group of industry analysts providing independent and impartial research on aspects of the media, entertainment and telecommunications, among others, told the BBC the court battle was actually about commercial interests. The solution would of course have been either for the siblings to have agreed to the change or more likely than not have been bought out in some way, but the price of buying them out is astronomical and Lachlan would have had to assume it just the same as Rupert bought out his siblings many years ago, she added. In 1999, the Murdoch Family Trust, which owns the media companies, was supposed to largely settle the succession plans. It led to Murdoch giving his eldest children various jobs within his companies. The trust gives the family eight votes, which it can use to have a say on the board of News Corp and Fox News. Murdoch currently controls four of those votes, with his eldest children being in charge of one each. The trust agreement said that once Mr Murdoch died, his votes would be passed on to his four eldest children equally. 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. Interest in the media at a young age Born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1931, it is reported that Murdoch developed an interest in the media at a young age. Another BBC report indicates that while at Oxford University in the UK he tried to buy the student newspaper and flirted with left-wing politics - putting a bust of Lenin on his mantelpiece and canvassing for the country's Labour party. As reported, his father Sir Keith Murdoch, one of Australia's most distinguished newspapermen, died in 1953 and left the family a controlling share of a single newspaper, the Adelaide News. Rupert returned from Britain to run it aged 22, and quickly expanded the business, buying a string of other titles in Australia and New Zealand and growing their circulation by employing racy tabloid techniques imported from the UK.
