American journalist Gabriel Sherman, after nearly two decades covering the Murdochs, releases a gripping book on the family's internal war. It focuses on Rupert Murdoch's relationship with his children and the acrimonious battle for control of his media empire.
The conflict peaked in 2024 when Rupert attempted to alter a 1999 trust to give his most right-wing son, Lachlan, full control, bypassing equal inheritance plans for Prudence, Elisabeth, and James. The siblings legally blocked the move, later accepting $1.1 billion each in exchange, but reportedly became estranged from their father.
The book condenses seven decades of Murdoch's dominance into 200 pages, revealing patterns of ruthlessness. Sherman details how Murdoch pitted his children against each other, notably during the News of the World scandal, where he had Elisabeth fire James, causing a years-long rift.
The feud had implications beyond the family, touching on Western democracy as Lachlan championed Fox News's pro-Trump agenda while James criticized misinformation. By choosing Lachlan, Murdoch secured his empire's ideological path but, as Sherman suggests, destroyed his family in the process, likening him to King Midas.