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Rupert Murdoch's children: Who are they and who will take on chairman role?

Rupert recently announced his decision to step down as chairman of Fox and News Corp


Rupert Murdoch smiling
Phoebe Tatham
Content Writer
On 21 September 2023
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Media mogul Rupert Murdoch hit headlines on Thursday when he announced his decision to step down as chairman of Fox News and News Corp.

In a statement, the 92-year-old said that he had "decided to transition to the role of Chairman Emeritus at Fox and News," with his son Lachlan, 52, set to "become sole Chairman of both companies."

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch in black suit © Getty
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has stepped down after 70 years

Join HELLO! as we take a closer look at Rupert's six children. Here's everything you need to know about the media mogul's expansive brood…

Rupert shares six children with three of his four wives. He shares daughter Prudence with his first wife Patricia Booker, Elisabeth, Lachlan and James with his second wife, Anna Mann, and youngest children Grace and Chloe with his third wife Wendi Deng.

Prudence MacLeod

Prudence MacLeod attending the Wedding of Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch© Getty
Prudence MacLeod attending the Wedding of Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch

Prudence, known affectionately as "Prue" is Rupert's eldest child. She was born in Australia but later moved to London and subsequently New York following her parents' divorce in 1967.

RELATED: All you need to know about Rupert Murdoch's love life

After her brief stint at News of the World, the 65-year-old has kept a low profile. Speaking to The Guardian, she said: "I've always been low-key and not many people know about me… I just love that."

She and her husband Alisdair share three children: James, Angus and Clementine.

Elisabeth Murdoch

Elisabeth Murdoch at The Fashion Awards© Getty
Elisabeth Murdoch is a mother of four

Elisabeth was born in August 1968 in Sydney. She studied at Brearly School in New York and later received her Bachelor's Degree from Vassar College. The 54-year-old has tied the knot on three occasions.

She was married to Elkin Kwesi Pianim between 1993 and 1998 and PR executive Matthew Freud between 2001 and 2014. She is now happily married to Keith Tyson with the couple exchanging vows in 2017.

Elisabeth is a mother of four and shares Cornelia and Anna with her first husband Elkin, and Charlotte Emma and Samson with her second husband Matthew.

Following in her father's footsteps, Elisabeth has enjoyed huge success with her TV production empire called Shine. The networker famously sold her company back to her father's News Corp for a whopping £153 million.

Lachlan Murdoch

lachlan murdoch in suit with wife sarah © Getty
Lachlan Murdoch with his wife Sarah at the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

Rupert has described his eldest son and successor as a "passionate and principled" leader.

The London-born businessman grew up in NYC and studied at Massachusetts school Phillips Academy before later going on to study Philosophy at Princeton.

Prior to taking on his father's impressive media empire, Lachlan was the executive chairman of Nova Entertainment, co-chairman of his father's News Corp and CEO of Fox Corporation. Beyond this, Lachlan previously founded an Australian investment company.

As for his personal life, the 52-year-old is happily married to actress Sarah. The couple live in Los Angeles with their three children: sons Kalan and Aidan, and daughter, Aerin.

James Murdoch

Rupert with his son James © Getty
Rupert with his son James

James, 50, kicked off his professional career in the music industry. After dropping out of Harvard, the London-born businessman set up his own record label called Rawkus Records.

His media mogul father subsequently bought his company with James becoming SEO of 21st Century Fox until it was sold to the Walt Disney Company in 2019.

He served as a member of the board of directors, until his resignation in 2020.

James wed his wife Kathryn Hufschmid back in 2000, and together they share three children. They welcomed their eldest daughter Anneka in 2003, son Walter in 2004, and youngest daughter Emerson in 2008.

Grace and Chloe Murdoch

rupert murdoch with his third wife wendi and daughters© Getty
Rupert shares Grace and Chloe with his third wife Wendi

Rupert welcomed his youngest children Grace and Chloe with his third wife Wendi Deng. The duo attended Rupert's fourth wedding to Jerry Hall as flower girls, and reportedly share a close bond with their stepsister Georgia May Jagger.

WATCH: Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch's wedding guests react to their 'beautiful' ceremony

The sibling duo grew up in New York with Grace allegedly studying at Yale University, whilst Chloe is enrolled at Stanford University.

Whilst Grace and Chloe rarely share updates over on social media, Grace has previously hinted at her close bond with her father Rupert. Alongside a carousel of photos, she included the caption: "My favourite person."

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