Peace has broken out in the Murdoch succession wars. It is not the ending that the writers of the TV series Succession would have contrived. It is one that owes more to commercial logic than dramatic licence.

Lachlan will inherit clear control of the Murdoch empire when Rupert dies, and his three siblings – Prudence, Elisabeth and James – will each receive an exit payment of $US1.1 billion, roughly 80 per cent of the current value of the stock, and they will no longer be part of the Murdoch Family Trust.

Rupert Murdoch and children Elisabeth, Lachlan and James (back).Credit: Jamie Brown

The “irrevocable” trust was drawn up in 1999 under the shadow of Rupert’s pending divorce from his second wife, Anna, and before his marriage to his third wife, Wendi Deng. Anna surrendered some of the money she could have commanded to secure control of the company for Rupert’s four existing children, safe from any future heirs.

The original trust had not envisaged acute conflict between the four siblings. In the face of ongoing conflict between Lachlan and James, in late 2023 Rupert moved to change the trust to ensure that Lachlan would succeed him and not be challenged by the other three. Without any hint of irony, they called it Project Family Harmony.

The trust arrangement could only be changed if it were to the benefit of all members. Rupert and Lachlan argued that his control of the company, in its conservative orientation, was........

© The Sydney Morning Herald