A trial to determine the future of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire and £14.9bn family trust is set to begin on Monday.
The case will pit Mr Murdoch, 93, against his three eldest children to decide who will get the most voting shares and control of News Corp and Fox News after his death.
It is reported that Mr Murdoch wants to amend the family trust set up in 1999 so that his son Lachlan can take control without “interference” from his siblings Prudence, Elisabeth and James.
The famous family was one of the inspirations behind the hit TV series Succession – but the Murdochs have always refused to comment on this.
Mr Murdoch also has two other children named Grace and Chloe and has been married five times.
Since the 1960s, Mr. Murdoch has built his media empire into a media giant with great influence on politics and the public.
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 groomed his two sons to follow in his footsteps, starting when they were teenagers, journalist Andrew Neil told the BBC’s 2020 documentary The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty.
The former Sunday Times editor said: “Family has always been very important to Rupert Murdoch, especially when it comes to forming a dynasty.
In 1999, the Murdoch Family Trust, which owns the media companies, was supposed to handle much of the succession planning.
This forced Mr. Murdoch to assign his eldest children to various jobs within the company.
However, differences in views and opinions are said to be the cause of family rifts.
The media mogul has stepped down as chairman of Fox and News Corp in favour of Lachlan, who is said to share his father’s right-wing views.
This is said to have caused James, Elisabeth, and Prudence to unite and “fight back”.
