31 Facts About Lachlan Murdoch

Lachlan Keith Murdoch is an American and Australian businessman and mass media heir.

Lachlan Murdoch is the son of the media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Lachlan Murdoch is the executive chairman of Nova Entertainment, chairman of News Corp, executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation.

Lachlan Murdoch was raised in New York City, where his father owned the New York Post, after moving there with his family at the age of three.

Lachlan Murdoch received his primary and secondary education at the Aspen Country Day School in Aspen, Colorado; then Dalton School and Trinity School in Manhattan, New York City; and then at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

At the age of 22 or 23, Lachlan Murdoch was appointed general manager of Queensland Newspapers, the publisher of Brisbane's Courier-Mail, and at this time became friends with James Packer, the son of a media mogul.

Lachlan Murdoch became publisher of Australia's first national paper, The Australian, and in 1995, was appointed deputy CEO of News Limited in Australia, and in 1996 was appointed to the News Corporation board.

Tel by his friend Australian businessman James Packer, the son of television network owner Kerry Packer, Lachlan Murdoch was extensively criticised for encouraging News Corporation's multi-hundred million-dollar investment in the start-up telecommunications company in the late 1990s.

Lachlan Murdoch later emerged as Australia's market leader in online real estate advertising, known as Realestate.

Lachlan Murdoch served on the board of Foxtel and as chairman of Fox Television stations, and was the publisher of the New York Post.

In July 2005, the 33-year-old Lachlan Murdoch abruptly resigned as an executive at the News Corp after a clash with then Fox News head Roger Ailes, with whom his father had sided, and returned to Australia with his wife and son.

On leaving News Corp with a two-year non-compete agreement, Lachlan Murdoch founded an Australian private investment company, Illyria Pty Ltd, in 2005.

Lachlan Murdoch developed an eclectic mix of investments, with stakes in the Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals, online DVD rental company Quickflix, toy marketer Funtastic and digital media company Destra.

In February 2011, Lachlan Murdoch was appointed acting CEO of Ten Network Holdings after the company's board terminated the contract of CEO Grant Blackley.

CBS's successful bid meant Lachlan Murdoch lost his entire investment in the network.

In March 2014, Lachlan Murdoch was appointed as non-executive co-chairman of News Corp and 21st Century Fox in a move that was seen as succession planning for the media empire.

Lachlan Murdoch stood aside as chairman and a director of Ten Network Holdings at this time.

Lachlan Murdoch's father was still hoping "to continue an active role in the company".

In September 2023, at the age of 52, when Rupert Murdoch retired, Lachlan Murdoch took over the leadership of his father's group, becoming chair of both Fox Corp and News Corp.

Lachlan Murdoch is one of the founding patrons of an organisation called "Advance", formerly known as the Young Australian Professionals in America.

Documentation obtained by Dominion showed that Lachlan Murdoch had played "a hands-on role in determining the political thrust of Fox News in favour of Trump".

Crikey originally removed the article to avoid legal persecution but later republished it, with editor Peter Fray accusing Lachlan Murdoch of "using the law to silence public debate", and "seeking to intimidate us".

On 21 April 2023, Lachlan Murdoch's lawyers filed a notice to discontinue the case.

Lachlan Murdoch had to pay more than in legal fees to Private Media after abandoning the case.

In September 2024, the Murdoch family is involved in a court case in Reno, Nevada, in which three of Lachlan's siblings are challenging their father's bid to amend the family trust to ensure that Lachlan retains control of News Corp and Fox Corp, rather than benefiting all of his six children, as is specified in the "irrevocable" terms of the trust.

Lachlan Murdoch argues that preserving the outlet's conservative editorial stance against interference by the more politically moderate siblings would better protect its commercial value.

Apart from full siblings Elisabeth and James Murdoch, Lachlan has three half-siblings, an elder half-sister Prudence, and two younger sisters by his father's third marriage, Grace and Chloe.

Lachlan Murdoch holds Australian citizenship, has often stated that he sees himself as Australian and his home is in Australia.

Lachlan Murdoch speaks with an American accent but considers Australia to be his home.

In 2018, Lachlan Murdoch described his political views as "conservative economically and more liberal on social policy".

Lachlan Murdoch did not participate in its production, which was made by journalist Paddy Manning and introduced by veteran ABC journalist Leigh Sales, but it does feature a 2001 interview with him, and his billionaire friend James Packer is interviewed.