Part 1: ‘These companies are my legacy’

In early December 2023, Rupert Murdoch flew into London to see his two oldest daughters, Prudence and Elisabeth. It was not a social visit.

For months, Rupert and his firstborn son, Lachlan, had been working on a secret plan to amend the family’s trust to strip three of his other children — Prue, Liz and James — of their power to influence the direction of the family business. Their lawyers had named it Project Family Harmony.

The trust, which holds the shares that control the Murdochs’ global media empire, gives Rupert authority over his two companies until his death. After that, the voting power is distributed equally among his four oldest children. It is irrevocable, but it includes a provision that gives Rupert the ability to make changes as long as he is acting solely in the best interests of his beneficiaries. This was the provision that he intended to exploit in order to consolidate control in Lachlan, the most politically conservative of the four.

By the time Rupert was on the plane to London, he had already called a special meeting of the trust’s board — to be held two days later — to ratify the changes. He had the votes he needed to ensure it passed, but he hoped to sell Prue and Liz on supporting the idea to avoid a nasty legal fight with his own children.

Rupert did not intend to tell James in advance. The two men were hardly speaking. It was the 50-year-old James, really, who had brought his father to this place: Rupert and Lachlan, who was 52, were convinced that he planned to lead a family coup to take control away from Lachlan after their father’s death.

Rupert figured he might have more luck with Prue and Liz, with whom he was still close despite plenty of ups and downs over the years. He hoped to persuade them that locking in Lachlan’s leadership was the best thing for everyone.