What is the ownership structure of Fox News and its relationship to Fox Corporation and Murdoch family trusts?
Executive summary
Fox News is a wholly owned operating unit of Fox Corporation, a publicly traded company with a dual-class share structure that concentrates voting control in Murdoch-linked Class B shares (public Class A and higher‑voting Class B) [1] [2]. In 2025–2025 reporting, the Murdoch family’s control has been exercised through the Murdoch Family Trust and related holdings—recently the subject of a high‑profile settlement that restructured beneficiary trusts and consolidated voting control with Lachlan Murdoch and a set of “remaining” beneficiary trusts [3] [4].
1. Fox News sits inside Fox Corporation — a public company with private control levers
Fox News is an operating division within Fox Corporation, which is publicly traded under tickers FOXA and FOX and houses Fox News Media alongside sports and entertainment assets [2] [5]. Although investors can buy public Class A shares, Fox Corporation uses a dual‑class share structure where Class B shares carry greater voting rights and are held primarily by Murdoch‑linked owners, giving the family outsized governance influence relative to their economic stake [1] [2].
2. The Murdoch Family Trust and LGC Holdco: how control has been channeled
Historically, the Murdoch Family Trust (MFT) and related vehicles held roughly a roughly 33–40% voting stake in Fox and News Corp that translated into effective corporate control through concentrated Class B voting shares [6] [7]. Corporate statements and subsequent reporting describe LGC Holdco, an entity associated with the family trusts, as the holder of the shares that underpin that voting control [8] [3].
3. Succession fighting, settlement, and the 2025 restructuring
A public legal and family succession fight over the MFT culminated in a 2025 resolution that reconstituted trusts: “Remaining Beneficiary Trusts” for Lachlan, Grace and Chloe Murdoch and “Departing Beneficiaries” (Prudence, Elisabeth and James) who ceased to be beneficiaries in trusts holding Fox/News shares [3] [9]. The settlement established new trusts with a term extending to 2050 and confirmed that voting control of the shares owned through LGC Holdco would rest solely with Lachlan Murdoch through his appointed managing director [3] [8].
4. What the settlements meant in dollars and shares
As part of the deal, certain family trusts launched a secondary public offering—about 16.9 million Class B Fox shares (and a similar News Corp parcel) were sold or registered—moving cash to departing beneficiaries and slightly diluting the family’s aggregate voting percentage while leaving Lachlan positioned for operational control [10] [11] [12]. Reports put the new trust package’s valuation around $3.3 billion and indicate the transaction created cash payouts for the siblings who gave up trust beneficiaries’ rights [13] [12].
5. How control translates into influence over Fox News
Because Fox News is a wholly owned part of Fox Corporation (not a separate public entity), whoever controls Fox Corp.’s voting shares and board appointments effectively steers corporate strategy and senior leadership of Fox News. Coverage notes Lachlan Murdoch as executive chair and CEO overseeing Fox Corporation’s strategy and editorial direction after recent leadership transitions [14] [15]. The settlement language confirms Lachlan’s practical steering power by assigning voting control through the restructured family trusts [3] [4].
6. Competing viewpoints and the limits of the sources
Some outlets emphasize that the settlement cements a conservative editorial continuity by centralizing control with Lachlan [13] [4]. Legal and estate‑planning commentators framed earlier efforts to amend irrevocable trusts as controversial and legally fraught, noting provisions that previously apportioned votes among Rupert Murdoch’s children [16] [17]. Available sources do not mention internal editorial edicts written into the trusts; legal commentary says such explicit editorial mandates were not apparent in trust language reported publicly [16].
7. Practical takeaway for readers tracking media ownership
The organizational fact is simple: Fox News is owned by Fox Corporation, which is publicly listed but governed through a dual‑class voting setup concentrated in Murdoch family‑linked Class B shares [1] [2]. Recent 2025 trust settlements reallocated who benefits and who votes within the Murdoch family—moving practical voting control to Lachlan while paying out and removing oversight rights from three of his siblings—so governance stability now rests on the new trust architecture and Lachlan’s appointed managers [3] [12].
Limitations and sourcing note: this analysis relies on corporate announcements, contemporaneous press coverage and company summaries provided above; detailed trust documents, SEC filings, and private family agreements are not reproduced in the supplied sources, and available reporting does not present the full legal text of the trusts [3] [10].