James Murdoch’s promotion to CEO of 21st Century Fox has been greeted as the answer to the years-long question of who would succeed his father, Rupert Murdoch, in control of the family empire. In reality, it may kick-off a decades-long sibling rivalry between James and his brother Lachlan.
After all, while much of the media coverage focused on James’ role, Fox’s announcement made clear that Lachlan, promoted to co-executive chairman with his father, will run the company in partnership with James. “The Company’s corporate functions, and its global television and film operations will now jointly report to Lachlan and James Murdoch.”