Fox News Corp. and Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch will retire as Chairman of those two entities, The Wall Street Journal report.
The founder will step down in November and will then be appointed Chairman Emeritus the report states.
The Journal continues:
Mr. Murdoch, 92 years old, will exit his roles atop each company as of November, when they hold annual meetings, the companies said. He will be appointed Chairman Emeritus of each company. His eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, who has served as co-chair of News Corp, will become sole chair of that company and will continue as
Executive Chair and CEO.
“For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change. But the time is right for me to take on different roles,” Rupert Murdoch wrote in a memo to staff.
His decision to step back solidifies Lachlan Murdoch as his successor. He called Lachlan a “passionate, principled leader” who can take the companies into the future.
Murdoch is one of a handful of media barons, along with the likes of John Malone, Ted Turner and Sumner Redstone, who shaped the modern era of media. He has wielded influence in political and financial capitals, earning credit from his boosters and blame from his critics. Murdoch has remained active in his later years, pursuing big deals to reshape his companies.
Breaking: Rupert Murdoch will step down as chair of Fox and News Corp after building a media empire over seven decades https://t.co/67Qcr3tf2J
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) September 21, 2023
Murdoch wrote: “Our companies are in robust health, as am I… Our opportunities far exceed our commercial challenges. We have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years.”
In 2018 Murdoch sold a major poriton of 21st Century Fox to Disney for $71 billion, changing them makeup of his empire.
Murdoch remains a major shareholder in the companies holding a 40% stake in News Corp. and a %44 stake in Fox, both voting shares the Journal reports.
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