Rupert Murdoch tried to rewrite his family trust so Lachlan would control his companies, and a Nevada commissioner found they acted in bad faith

When Rupert Murdoch divorced his second wife, Anna Torv, in 1999, she demanded that control of the business be split equally between him and their children, ABC News (Australia) reported on 21 September 2024. Under the resulting irrevocable family trust, each of his 4 eldest children, Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan and James, had 1 vote and Rupert had 4. Grace and Chloe, his daughters with Wendi Deng, are entitled to 1/3 of the trust's assets but cannot vote. After Rupert's death the trust would split power over Fox Corporation and News Corp evenly among the 4 elder children. In 2023 Rupert and Lachlan devised "Project Harmony", and Rupert petitioned a Nevada probate court to amend the trust to give Lachlan permanent, exclusive control. The court in Reno sealed the case, listed as the "Doe 1 Trust" (PR23-00813); NBC News reported that Rupert is "Doe 1". In June 2024 Nevada's probate commissioner found that Rupert could change the trust if he acted in good faith and for the sole benefit of his heirs. Prudence, Elisabeth and James opposed the change at a closed evidentiary hearing that began on 16 September 2024. In December 2024 Commissioner Edmund Gorman ruled that Rupert and Lachlan had brought the case in "bad faith" and, according to the New York Times, called the plan a "carefully crafted charade". Rupert's lawyer said he would appeal. On 8 September 2025 the trustee and beneficiaries announced a "mutual resolution" of the Nevada proceedings. Prudence, Elisabeth and James left every trust holding Fox or News Corp shares, paid in part from the sale of 16,835,016 Fox and about 14.2 million News Corp Class B shares. The Fox sale closed on 10 September 2025 at $53.46 a share. ABC News (Australia) put the 3 siblings' payout at US$3.3 billion. New trusts for Lachlan, Grace and Chloe run to 2050, with voting control resting solely with Lachlan. Status: settled in September 2025.