Rupert Murdoch Achieves Power Succession
The family behind The Wall Street Journal and Fox News has produced a successor following a contentious dispute. He will most likely prioritize profits over political influence.
Through his ownership stakes in the companies that control The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, the British newspaper The Times, major book publisher HarperCollins, and the U.S. television channel Fox News, Rupert Murdoch is one of the most influential media moguls in the world. With a net worth estimated at around $24 billion as of October 2025, the Murdoch family is also one of the wealthiest in the United States.1 Murdoch’s media empire occupies several important niches. The Wall Street Journal is one of the few U.S. newspapers of record, whose reputation allows its reporting to be considered authoritative by large bureaucratic organizations like corporations or government bureaucracies. It is also the only newspaper of record considered right-leaning in political orientation. Fox News, meanwhile, is the most-viewed cable news network in the U.S. and the most prominent network supportive of the Republican Party. Murdoch, who is 94 years old, recently successfully transferred power over his empire to his favored successor, his currently 54-year-old son Lachlan Murdoch.