Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch steps down as Chairman of Fox and News Corp
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch announced yesterday that he is stepping down from his position as chairman of Fox and News Corporation, bringing an end to his seventy-year career. Murdoch, 92, told The Sun that it was the right time to “take on different roles” as he takes on the role of Chair Emeritus in November, leaving his eldest son Lachlan to become the new chairman of both companies. In his role as Chair Emeritus, he will take on the duties as chairman if his son is absent.
Lachlan, 52, has held top positions within his fathers business empire from the late ‘90s to 2005 when he left the company before returning in 2014. The announcement of him taking over his father’s position has officially ended the debate of whether it would be him or his brother James, 50, who left the News Corp board in 2020. Lachlan has released a statement congratulating his father on his “remarkable 70-year career” and thanked him for his vision, pioneering spirit, determination and the legacy he has left to the companies. Rupert has assured the media that he will still be staying involved in the “contest of ideas”.
Murdoch was born in Melbourne in 1931, and inherited his fathers newspaper legacy in 1952. Over the years papers such as The Sun, The Times and New York Daily Post have joined his growing business empire before the addition of broadcasting with the purchase of stakes in 20th Century Fox in 1994. Murdoch went on to found Fox News in 1996 which is now one of the most watched networks in the United States.
