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Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as chair of Fox and News Corp, marking the end of an era for the powerful media billionaire.
“For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change,” Murdoch, 92, wrote in a memo to employees. “But the time is right for me to take on different roles, knowing that we have truly talented teams.”
As the leader of Fox and News Corporation, which publishes influential broadsheets such as The Wall Street Journal and tabloid New York Post, Murdoch has for decades commanded considerable influence in the Republican Party, matched by only a select few.
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Lachlan Murdoch, his son, will take over the chairman role at both companies, which between them operate Fox News Channel and The Wall Street Journal in the U.S. and The Times and The Sun in the U.K. Rupert, who is 92 years old, will shift into an emeritus role. The moves are expected to be approved in mid-November by the shareholders of each company. The elder Murdoch would appear to still control the family trust that governs both companies.
The Fox founder’s decision comes five months after his news network paid $787.5m to settle a defamation suit brought by voting equipment company Dominion. Dominion charged that Fox had knowingly broadcast false and outlandish allegations that it was involved in a plot to steal the 2020 election.
