Fact check: What is the current ownership structure of Fox Corporation?

1. How Fox’s dual-class system hands control to one family

Fox operates a two-class common stock arrangement: Class A shares trade publicly and carry limited voting rights, while Class B shares confer superior votes and are held principally by the Murdoch family, preserving control despite public float ^[1]. The company’s proxy materials explicitly describe this allocation of voting power and identify Lachlan Murdoch in the top executive and governance roles, which, combined with Class B voting leverage, creates effective family control over board composition and strategic decisions. This structure is typical of media companies seeking founder control while accessing public capital, but it concentrates influence in a small group of holders ^{[1] [5]}.

2. Leadership changes and the consolidation of control

Proxy and corporate governance documents list Lachlan K. Murdoch as Executive Chair and CEO, signaling his operational and strategic supremacy at Fox; other executive officers and directors fill management functions but do not displace family control ^{[5] [6]}. A high-profile 2025 settlement within the Murdoch family transferred specific media assets and rights to Lachlan, while other heirs received payouts and exited certain trusts, effectively consolidating editorial and corporate control under his leadership. That settlement has concrete implications for governance because it aligns beneficial ownership, voting control, and executive authority in a single family member ^{[3] [1]}.

3. Recent family settlement: what changed and when

A settlement announced in September 2025 resolved intra-family litigation and transferred operational control of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal to Lachlan Murdoch, with other heirs accepting payouts and trust exits in exchange for relinquishing interests, according to reporting dated 2025-09-08 ^[3]. This move formalized a reality long embedded in governance documents — that Murdoch family voting shares determine strategic direction — by clarifying succession and ownership stakes among heirs. The settlement’s timing in 2025 matters because it reduced legal uncertainty around leadership and likely influenced investor assessments of continuity and editorial stance ^{[3] [2]}.

4. What public filings disclose — and what they leave out

Fox’s investor materials and proxy statements disclose the dual-class framework, executive slate, and board nominations, but they typically stop short of granular, contemporaneous breakdowns of every individual beneficiary’s economic or voting percentages in private family trusts; some investor pages mention offerings of Class B shares without exhaustive detail ^{[1] [4]}. Corporate filings are authoritative on structure and voting rights, yet the opaque nature of family trusts and intra-family arrangements means that press reports and settlement documents are needed to fully map who exercises de facto control. Analysts must therefore combine SEC disclosures with credible reporting to infer true control dynamics ^{[1] [4]}.

5. The editorial and strategic consequences of concentrated control

Observers note that Lachlan Murdoch’s leadership has steered Fox toward a conservative editorial direction, and consolidation of control through the 2025 settlement increases the likelihood of continuity in content and corporate strategy ^{[2] [3]}. Concentrated control can enable long-term strategic planning and editorial consistency but raises governance concerns about minority shareholder protections and accountability. The family’s voting dominance means that board independence and oversight mechanisms become the primary check on management, making board composition and corporate governance disclosures particularly consequential for investors and regulators ^{[2] [7]}.

6. Governance appointments and their signaling to markets

Board changes announced in 2023, including nominations of international figures and corporate executives, were part of Fox’s broader governance narrative, but such appointments do not alter the fundamental voting architecture created by the dual-class shares ^[7]. The inclusion of high-profile external directors signals an effort to broaden expertise and potentially bolster governance credentials, yet the ultimate control remains with Class B shareholders. Investors weigh these governance improvements against the structural reality of concentrated voting power when assessing risk, activism potential, and the company’s strategic independence ^{[7] [5]}.

7. Bottom line: structure, control, and what to watch next

Fox’s ownership is defined by a dual-class system that privileges the Murdoch family through Class B voting shares, with Lachlan Murdoch occupying chief executive and chair roles and further legitimized by the 2025 settlement that clarified intra-family rights and control ^{[1] [3]}. Public investors own economically significant Class A shares but have limited voting influence. Going forward, stakeholders should watch SEC filings for any changes to share classes, disclosures around trust beneficiaries, board nomination filings, and further reporting on the post-2025 ownership adjustments to fully track who ultimately controls Fox’s strategic and editorial direction ^{[4] [3]}.