Bonfire of the Murdochs

The real succession story of the Murdoch empire is more shocking than the fictional TV series. When Rupert Murdoch made a fateful decision about who should inherit his media colossus, he believed that pitting his children against each other would produce the most capable heir. Twenty-five years later, that gamble would tear apart one of the world’s most powerful families and trigger a multi-billion dollar reckoning in a succession battle featuring betrayals, lawsuits, and revenge plots. In Bonfire of the Murdochs, bestselling author Gabriel Sherman tells the inside story of this epic family war, one whose seeds were planted a half-century ago in Australia when the complicated patriarch left his homeland to conquer the world and please the ghost of his judgmental father. That quest culminated in a media empire that controlled Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and tabloids on three continents, which wielded more political and cultural power than any single company in modern times. But Rupert’s plan to rip up the secret trust controlling his empire and anoint his conservative firstborn son Lachlan as successor set him on a collision course with his three more liberal children What price would Rupert pay to secure his legacy? For the aging patriarch, this would be his final and most personal deal. Based on interviews with more than 150 sources, Bonfire of the Murdochs is a richly textured narrative where each child plays their predestined role in a blood feud that explodes in a courtroom showdown. There, Murdoch’s children weaponize his own secrets against him. It is a tragedy Shakespeare would have appreciated, where getting everything you want costs everything you love. Based on interviews with more than 150 sources and unprecedented access to internal family dynamics, this is the definitive inside account of the most powerful media family in history. It’s a richly textured narrative where each character has a clear arc: - James evolves from company loyalist to moral crusader who takes on his father’s empire - Lachlan transforms from golden child to reluctant heir trapped by his inheritance - Elisabeth fights for recognition in a family obsessed with sons, ultimately becoming the bridge-builder - Prudence emerges as the family truth-teller who forces the final reckoning Unlike dry corporate histories, this reads like a thriller that happens to be about a media empire. The book builds to a genuine courtroom showdown where Murdoch’s own children finally weaponize the most damaging information of all: the truth about their father. Even after winning in court, the family remains shattered—Murdoch’s final letter to his children ends with "Much love, Dad" after informing them he will only communicate going forward through lawyers.