Rupert Murdoch will step down as chairman of his media empire, a conservative behemoth that helped shape politics around the world, and hand control to his son Lachlan, Fox Corp. and News Corp. announced Thursday.
The Australian-born 92-year-old, who built a global entertainment and news juggernaut that shaped events from Brexit to the rise of Donald Trump, will shift into an emeritus status at both companies in mid-November, the companies said.
The announcement marks a major transition for a singular figure who rose from the world of local news in Adelaide, Australia, before purchasing legacy tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in the United States and Britain and establishing hugely popular cable television operations. The Dominion suit, which was settled shortly before going to trial, had argued that a stream of prominent Fox newscasters and commentators had promoted ex-president Trump's lies about both the vote and Dominion's machines.