The Murdoch succession saga

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4 • 796 Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2024

⏱️ 17 minutes

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Summary

It has already inspired the hit HBO television series Succession, but now Rupert Murdoch’s family drama is playing out in real life in a courtroom in the US state of Nevada.

The 93-year-old media mogul is trying to change the terms of a family trust he made years ago that states that after his death, his four eldest children should get equal voting rights in his empire. Murdoch wants to alter it to give his eldest son Lachlan greater control.

We hear from outside the courtroom, look back at Murdoch’s extraordinary career, and talk to two people who know the Murdoch family story well. And we reflect on what the court case might mean for one of the world’s most powerful media empires.

(Picture: Rupert Murdoch arriving at a courthouse in Reno, Nevada. Credit: Reuters)

Presented and produced by Gideon Long

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Business Daily from the BBC World Service. I'm Gideon Long, and today we're looking at the extraordinary saga of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his succession plans.
0:12.8	The 93-year-old is locked in a legal battle with three of his children over the future of his sprawling business empire.
0:19.2	What a way to end your life. You're in your 90s.
0:21.8	You have grandchildren.
0:23.5	And you're going to court against their parents.
0:26.6	Like, what is that?
0:27.5	It's a story that's already spawned a hugely successful television series, HBO's Succession,
0:33.2	which was loosely based on the Murdoch family.
0:35.7	But this is about more than show business.
0:38.2	This is not just a family dispute.
0:40.2	This is a family dispute that has enormous implications for democracy and politics globally.
0:47.6	We'll look back at Rupert Murdoch's remarkable career
0:50.0	and ask what the future holds for his business empire and his children.
0:54.2	That's all here on Business Daily from the BBC World Service.
1:00.6	Mr Murdoch, are you confident of victory?
1:02.7	Are there any ongoing settlement talks?
1:05.0	Rupert Murdoch and his children arriving at a courthouse in Reno in the US state of Nevada
1:09.6	in September for a hearing that could shape the future of the Murdoch Empire.
1:16.3	They didn't speak to reporters on their way in.
1:19.1	The BBC's Los Angeles correspondent Emma Vardy was there and tried to find out more.
1:23.9	We're outside the courthouse here, a place we could normally go inside and report from,
1:28.9	but the nature of this case is that journalists are essentially locked out.
	...

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