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Bonfire of the Murdochs
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.
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.
Audible Audio
Published February 3, 2026
About the author
Gabriel Sherman
2 books46 followersGABRIEL SHERMAN is a special correspondent for Vanity Fair and the author of the New York Times Best Selling biography of Fox News founder Roger Ailes, The Loudest Voice in the Room, which is currently being adapted into a limited series for Showtime. Previously, Sherman served as national affairs editor at New York magazine and is a regular contributor to NBC News and MSNBC. He lives in New York City with his family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
February 6, 2026
Having spent considerable time in the newspaper business in an executive position, I am stunned at how unimportant the truth is to Rupert Murdoch. It should come as no surprise that publishing sensational stories makes money when legitimate journalism does not. But it hurts my heart to see it so blatantly revealed in this book.
This is a quick and interesting read on the history of a media mogul and his empire. It’s not sentimental or infused with unnecessary drama, although plenty of dramatic things happen. Rupert Murdoch’s siren song is money and sensationalism and even false stories feed his greed and need for revenge. This is a well written, sharp and revealing book. I will be looking to read this author’s book on Roger Ailes soon.
This is a quick and interesting read on the history of a media mogul and his empire. It’s not sentimental or infused with unnecessary drama, although plenty of dramatic things happen. Rupert Murdoch’s siren song is money and sensationalism and even false stories feed his greed and need for revenge. This is a well written, sharp and revealing book. I will be looking to read this author’s book on Roger Ailes soon.
February 16, 2026
I was super curious to read this new book by Gabriel Sherman after I had to read The Loudest Voice in the Room in journalism school for my media ethics class years ago and really enjoyed it. That book about Roger Ailes was super fascinating as he was so ethically (and morally) horrible while building the ‘Fox News Machine’ that created such drastic and devastating changes to modern journalism and politics. I knew Sherman’s new book about Rupert Murdoch would be equally as scandalous and well-reported. This book was quite interesting, just in learning about Murdoch’s empire and influence on the newspaper industry and politics, as well as his troubled relationships with his adult children. I felt so bad for them a lot of the time but some of his kids were super cunning and/or successful in their own right. I can’t imagine pitting my children against one another as ruthlessly as he did for a media dynasty, but he for sure is who he is portrayed as in the media. I always appreciate a good well-reported journalism book and this one was pretty entertaining. This one likely won’t be as memorable as the Roger Ailes book, but still an interesting read about a political/media figure as equally as polarizing, ruthless and powerful. At least Murdoch never threw donuts at his staff… lol (I still remember reading about that all these years later…) This book also made me curious to watch Bombshell and Succession, as those were mentioned in this book. Overall, an interesting political and journalism based book by a great author!
April 7, 2026
Gabriel Sherman often relates the Murdoch family dynasty to the show Succession in his book Bonfire of the Murdochs. (I can't comment on that comparison, because I've never seen the show.) Rupert Murdoch, the famous patriarch of the family, enjoys manipulating his family, as well as nearly everyone else around him. Murdoch has been married five times, and famously broke with Jerry Hall via email. She was given 30 days to vacate their California home and later discovered surveillance cameras at her Oxfordshire home. Over the course of 74 years, starting in Australia, Murdoch has changed the business of reporting the news. His main goal always was to sell more advertising and make more money. In 1969 he realized that including photos of glamourous models at The Sun boosted sales significantly. This practice continued for 45 years. At 95, Murdoch is seen as a ruthless businessman, who is also brutal with his family. Sherman's book provides an interesting look at the extremes people reach in service of greed.
February 24, 2026
Blijft een ongelofelijk verhaal dat eindeloos nieuwe hoofdstukken krijgt
Read
February 9, 2026A non-fiction account of Rupert Murdoch and the mess he calls a family.
March 2, 2026
This family deserves to be broke for what Rupert Murdoch has done to America.
March 25, 2026
This is a difficult book to rate. It’s about a 3.5. I can’t get over that there is not one redeemable trait to Rupert Murdoch or many of those around him.
May 1, 2026
Bonfire of the Murdochs is a sharp, almost ironic study of power, legacy, and ideological drift. Having followed The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty and the real-time succession drama, what stands out is the contradiction at the family’s core: a young Rupert Murdoch, once skeptical of entrenched elites and inherited privilege, ultimately building one of the most influential and insular media empires of the modern age.
The book captures how ideology within the Murdoch empire is less about conviction and more about alignment with power and audience. The shift from disdain toward Donald Trump to tacit or overt accommodation of his movement underscores a pragmatic, even opportunistic elasticity rather than a coherent political philosophy.
What’s particularly compelling is the generational paradox: despite their cosmopolitan education and attempts to modernize the brand, the Murdoch children remain tethered to their father’s instincts proving that succession in such dynasties is less about inheritance of assets and more about inheritance of worldview.
Murdoch’s rise itself is a study in timing and aggression, leveraging postwar media fragmentation, tabloids, and later cable news to consolidate influence across continents yet that same centralization now fuels the family’s internal fractures.
The book captures how ideology within the Murdoch empire is less about conviction and more about alignment with power and audience. The shift from disdain toward Donald Trump to tacit or overt accommodation of his movement underscores a pragmatic, even opportunistic elasticity rather than a coherent political philosophy.
What’s particularly compelling is the generational paradox: despite their cosmopolitan education and attempts to modernize the brand, the Murdoch children remain tethered to their father’s instincts proving that succession in such dynasties is less about inheritance of assets and more about inheritance of worldview.
Murdoch’s rise itself is a study in timing and aggression, leveraging postwar media fragmentation, tabloids, and later cable news to consolidate influence across continents yet that same centralization now fuels the family’s internal fractures.
February 6, 2026
A Definitive Biography of Rupert Murdoch with the Succession In Mind
I liked this accounting of the life of Rupert Murdoch and his empire and the subsequent succession that has sparked so much intrigue.
Rupert himself seems like such a hateful figure with some of the quotes attributed to him being quite outright shocking. So I'm not surprised that rubs off in his outlets. And in regards to his relationships infidelity is a part of who he is.
He has contributed some great things to culture through Fox and Harper Collins. And I like The Wall Street Journal's investigative journalism and business, media and tech coverage. And I have been a consumer of Foxtel throughout the years (but if you are interested in his Foxtel era there's only really one mention of it). But it's almost like he couldn't care less about what's been created with his money as long as it's lining his back pocket.
Was shocked at some of the money troubles he had throughout his time. And some of the companies he owned throughout the years. He owned Ansett Airlines and New York magazine at one point.
And the harsh way he treated many of his employees during his career especially the print press workers in the UK blindsided by his mega printing press on a skeleton crew of scabs. There's an Audible Original podcast called The Sun King that more thoroughly goes into that ordeal.
One of his worst influences on the world has to be Fox News, and it's state run propaganda arm of the Republican Party MAGA style of sycophancy towards Trump.
The book has lovely, get down to the point prose with plenty of quotable moments. Easy to read. I sat down and read it through the light hours of the day. And in the end it's just sad how harsh and cold he has been to his family all in the quest for money and power.
Highly recommended read!
I liked this accounting of the life of Rupert Murdoch and his empire and the subsequent succession that has sparked so much intrigue.
Rupert himself seems like such a hateful figure with some of the quotes attributed to him being quite outright shocking. So I'm not surprised that rubs off in his outlets. And in regards to his relationships infidelity is a part of who he is.
He has contributed some great things to culture through Fox and Harper Collins. And I like The Wall Street Journal's investigative journalism and business, media and tech coverage. And I have been a consumer of Foxtel throughout the years (but if you are interested in his Foxtel era there's only really one mention of it). But it's almost like he couldn't care less about what's been created with his money as long as it's lining his back pocket.
Was shocked at some of the money troubles he had throughout his time. And some of the companies he owned throughout the years. He owned Ansett Airlines and New York magazine at one point.
And the harsh way he treated many of his employees during his career especially the print press workers in the UK blindsided by his mega printing press on a skeleton crew of scabs. There's an Audible Original podcast called The Sun King that more thoroughly goes into that ordeal.
One of his worst influences on the world has to be Fox News, and it's state run propaganda arm of the Republican Party MAGA style of sycophancy towards Trump.
The book has lovely, get down to the point prose with plenty of quotable moments. Easy to read. I sat down and read it through the light hours of the day. And in the end it's just sad how harsh and cold he has been to his family all in the quest for money and power.
Highly recommended read!
March 2, 2026
I watched the TV series based on Gabriel Sherman's book, The Loudest Voice in the Room and thoroughly enjoyed it (actually, can you thoroughly enjoy something and be disgusted by the subject matter at the same time?). Reading Bonfire of the Murdochs was something of a given : I worked for News Corp back in the day and one of my editors had been a close friend of Rupert - eventually heard a few 'human' stories about the bloke and hard to associate the Rupert from back then to what he is now. Really is a whole lot of Shakespeare about the family drama and kinda tragic that a crusading publisher will, in the main, largely be remembered as a horrible excuse for humanity. Sherman has done a good job, but just can't get past the feeling that something's missing. For mine, it's missing some of the 'blood' but then again, you wonder exactly what is running through Rupert's veins.
March 26, 2026
Reading this after Death in the Jungle was... something. Cult of personality to cult of money and personality.
May 25, 2026
I have to go rewatch Succession
May 29, 2026
I listened to the book. Fascinating to hear some of the back stories; but a little stilted and just the stringing of facts in its style. But a quick listen!
June 11, 2026
Interesting reporting but pretty standard leftist account of conservative media empire
Read
March 5, 2026What an absolutely broken family and tragic story.
June 5, 2026
interessant boek.
April 7, 2026
A fascinating, thoroughly researched narrative nonfiction about the Murdochs and the power struggle among Rupert Murdoch's children to gain control of the company. This book completely gripped me and I couldn't put it down. Can't wait to rewatch Succession with these events in mind.
March 30, 2026
Readable but nothing new.
I have had a longtime interest in the Murdoch's. I am originally from Melbourne and am familiar with Rupert's father, Sir Keith Murdoch's reputation in conveying the tragedy of the Gallipoli campaign to the powers that be in London and Canberra. It is fair to say that our sense of nationalism owes much to this mismanaged campaign that led to the deaths of so many young Australians. Sherman notes as much in this book and suggests that much of Rupert's drive comes from the need to emulate his father's reputation as a great newspaperman.
Of course, Rupert went on to dominate the global media world, doing things both good and bad, never stopping, but always looking forward to the next deal. These are all very much public knowledge, from his acquisition of papers in the UK, USA and Asia, as well as the missteps along the way. His ruthlessness in business was mirrored in his personal life - from notifying his wife of divorce by email to having one of his children fire another sibling from the company, he could be cruel and heartless, but he was also a loving father in many ways.
This book is primarily about the way he promoted and managed the competition between his kids to see who would take over the reins. Family companies almost always fail in some way. The third generation curse is a real problem. Only time will tell if Lachlan can beat those odds. As Rupert knows only too well, money trumps all - and Elisabeth, James and Prue bear out this fact. But can News Corp survive the post-Trump era? I suspect that the pendulum will swing fairly quickly back to the left come the next election and Trump will fade from view (except to the extent that the Trump-Epstein files (TM - Jimmy Kimmel) continue to dominate the front pages, and Trump has no more tricks to play. How Lachlan navigates this change will likely dictate his legacy and the future of the company.
I have had a longtime interest in the Murdoch's. I am originally from Melbourne and am familiar with Rupert's father, Sir Keith Murdoch's reputation in conveying the tragedy of the Gallipoli campaign to the powers that be in London and Canberra. It is fair to say that our sense of nationalism owes much to this mismanaged campaign that led to the deaths of so many young Australians. Sherman notes as much in this book and suggests that much of Rupert's drive comes from the need to emulate his father's reputation as a great newspaperman.
Of course, Rupert went on to dominate the global media world, doing things both good and bad, never stopping, but always looking forward to the next deal. These are all very much public knowledge, from his acquisition of papers in the UK, USA and Asia, as well as the missteps along the way. His ruthlessness in business was mirrored in his personal life - from notifying his wife of divorce by email to having one of his children fire another sibling from the company, he could be cruel and heartless, but he was also a loving father in many ways.
This book is primarily about the way he promoted and managed the competition between his kids to see who would take over the reins. Family companies almost always fail in some way. The third generation curse is a real problem. Only time will tell if Lachlan can beat those odds. As Rupert knows only too well, money trumps all - and Elisabeth, James and Prue bear out this fact. But can News Corp survive the post-Trump era? I suspect that the pendulum will swing fairly quickly back to the left come the next election and Trump will fade from view (except to the extent that the Trump-Epstein files (TM - Jimmy Kimmel) continue to dominate the front pages, and Trump has no more tricks to play. How Lachlan navigates this change will likely dictate his legacy and the future of the company.
February 24, 2026
Over de megalomane Rupert Murdoch
Vreugdevuur van de Murdochs vertelt het verhaal van de meedogenloze, megalomane Rupert Murdoch, die via de media macht uitoefent over onze wereld.
Auteur
De Amerikaanse Gabriel Sherman is niet enkel journalist, auteur en scenarioschrijver van onder andere ‘The Apprentice’. Zijn boek ‘The loudest voice’ over Roger Ailes, die een belangrijke rol speelt in het verhaal van Murdoch werd een mini-serie met Russel Crowe. Bam!
Cover
De familiefoto op de omslag geeft de satirische titel nog een extraatje. Mooi!
Vreugdevuur van de Murdochs: het verhaal
Je krijgt de levensloop te lezen van de ‘koude’ Rupert Murdoch, die niet alleen zowel zakelijke als persoonlijke beloftes verbreekt, maar enkel en alleen interesse heeft hoe hij zijn imperium kan uitbreiden.
Vooral de parallelle verhaallijn hoe hij zijn vijf (!) – waaronder Jerry Hall – echtgenotes en vooral zijn kinderen tegen elkaar opzet in een Hunger Games. Zo erg zelfs dat ze uiteindelijk moeten getuigen in een rechtszaak van hun 93-jarige vader als ‘bezwaar makende kinderen’.
Blijkbaar is de succesvolle serie ‘Succession’ (ik ben zo erg fan hiervan!) op Rupert Murdoch gebaseerd en in het boek merk je dat hij paranoia werd wie tips naar de producers lekte.
Mijn gedacht
Uiteraard word je verontrust over hoeveel invloed media hebben op de wereldpolitiek en ook je eigen mening. Inhoudelijk is het boek erg sterk, want je leest letterlijk hoe invloedrijke figuren (waaronder Margaret Thatcher en Donald Trump) bewerkt worden door Murdoch. De schrijver heeft diepgaand onderzoek gedaan (getuige de 70 bladzijdes bronnen, noten en register), maar toch lijkt het mij wel meer een beschrijving dan een openbaring om de verstrekkende gevolgen te laten inzien van macht bij één persoon. Toch erg interessant.
Monopoly is a terrible thing, till you have it. (Rupert Murdoch)
Vreugdevuur van de Murdochs vertelt het verhaal van de meedogenloze, megalomane Rupert Murdoch, die via de media macht uitoefent over onze wereld.
Auteur
De Amerikaanse Gabriel Sherman is niet enkel journalist, auteur en scenarioschrijver van onder andere ‘The Apprentice’. Zijn boek ‘The loudest voice’ over Roger Ailes, die een belangrijke rol speelt in het verhaal van Murdoch werd een mini-serie met Russel Crowe. Bam!
Cover
De familiefoto op de omslag geeft de satirische titel nog een extraatje. Mooi!
Vreugdevuur van de Murdochs: het verhaal
Je krijgt de levensloop te lezen van de ‘koude’ Rupert Murdoch, die niet alleen zowel zakelijke als persoonlijke beloftes verbreekt, maar enkel en alleen interesse heeft hoe hij zijn imperium kan uitbreiden.
Vooral de parallelle verhaallijn hoe hij zijn vijf (!) – waaronder Jerry Hall – echtgenotes en vooral zijn kinderen tegen elkaar opzet in een Hunger Games. Zo erg zelfs dat ze uiteindelijk moeten getuigen in een rechtszaak van hun 93-jarige vader als ‘bezwaar makende kinderen’.
Blijkbaar is de succesvolle serie ‘Succession’ (ik ben zo erg fan hiervan!) op Rupert Murdoch gebaseerd en in het boek merk je dat hij paranoia werd wie tips naar de producers lekte.
Mijn gedacht
Uiteraard word je verontrust over hoeveel invloed media hebben op de wereldpolitiek en ook je eigen mening. Inhoudelijk is het boek erg sterk, want je leest letterlijk hoe invloedrijke figuren (waaronder Margaret Thatcher en Donald Trump) bewerkt worden door Murdoch. De schrijver heeft diepgaand onderzoek gedaan (getuige de 70 bladzijdes bronnen, noten en register), maar toch lijkt het mij wel meer een beschrijving dan een openbaring om de verstrekkende gevolgen te laten inzien van macht bij één persoon. Toch erg interessant.
Monopoly is a terrible thing, till you have it. (Rupert Murdoch)
March 26, 2026
A searing and often brutal tale of a media family at war, Bonfire of the Murdochs makes TV’s Succession look almost tame in comparison, says Andy Walker in this book review.
Like most people on the left, I have no time for the media mogul Rupert Murdoch. His business modus operandi represents everything that is wrong about, not just the media industry, but the capitalist system itself. Greed is good, shafting people who get in your way is fair game and anything that enables you to make more profits is absolutely fine – all of this is part and parcel of the Murdoch approach.
In Bonfire of the Murdochs, author Gabriel Sherman chronicles a man who acts in a totally transactional way where his family ends up at each other’s throats, at his behest, and where even personal relationships become part of ‘the deal’ and are totally subordinate to making money and boosting the share price. That Rupert Murdoch is a stain on the international media industry is beyond doubt. The man who gave us the Sun, the News of the World, page three girls and the phone hacking scandal is clearly beneath contempt. But this is also a man who was fawned over by politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, desperate to curry favour with someone that they believed could help to ease their way into office.
Murdoch’s family business – and it is absolutely a family business – is a depressing catalogue of nepotism on the grandest of scales where mediocrity is lavishly rewarded and personal relationships are traded and bartered to benefit the greater good of the company. No wonder that the Murdoch siblings ended up in a blood feud pitted against each other (and their father) as they tried to gain control of a billion-dollar enterprise. But this is capitalism in tooth and claw and that is how it works.
Like most people on the left, I have no time for the media mogul Rupert Murdoch. His business modus operandi represents everything that is wrong about, not just the media industry, but the capitalist system itself. Greed is good, shafting people who get in your way is fair game and anything that enables you to make more profits is absolutely fine – all of this is part and parcel of the Murdoch approach.
In Bonfire of the Murdochs, author Gabriel Sherman chronicles a man who acts in a totally transactional way where his family ends up at each other’s throats, at his behest, and where even personal relationships become part of ‘the deal’ and are totally subordinate to making money and boosting the share price. That Rupert Murdoch is a stain on the international media industry is beyond doubt. The man who gave us the Sun, the News of the World, page three girls and the phone hacking scandal is clearly beneath contempt. But this is also a man who was fawned over by politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, desperate to curry favour with someone that they believed could help to ease their way into office.
Murdoch’s family business – and it is absolutely a family business – is a depressing catalogue of nepotism on the grandest of scales where mediocrity is lavishly rewarded and personal relationships are traded and bartered to benefit the greater good of the company. No wonder that the Murdoch siblings ended up in a blood feud pitted against each other (and their father) as they tried to gain control of a billion-dollar enterprise. But this is capitalism in tooth and claw and that is how it works.
February 28, 2026
Fascinerend inkijkje in een media-imperium
‘Vreugdevuur van de Murdochs’ schetst een meeslepend en onthullend portret van mediamagnaat Rupert Murdoch en de immense invloed die hij decennialang uitoefende op politiek en publieke opinie. Auteur Gabriel Sherman – bekend van The Loudest Voice in the Room – baseert zich op diepgravend onderzoek en een indrukwekkende hoeveelheid bronnen, wat het boek inhoudelijk bijzonder sterk maakt.
Sherman laat niet alleen Murdochs zakelijke meedogenloosheid zien, maar ook de complexe en vaak schrijnende dynamiek binnen zijn familie. De rivaliteit tussen zijn kinderen leest soms als een aflevering van Succession – niet toevallig een serie die sterk door Murdochs clan geïnspireerd zou zijn. Het persoonlijke en het politieke raken voortdurend met elkaar verweven.
Daarnaast biedt het boek een verontrustend maar boeiend inzicht in Murdochs invloed op wereldleiders als Margaret Thatcher en Donald Trump. Je beseft al lezend hoe groot de impact van media kan zijn op mondiale besluitvorming én op onze eigen beeldvorming.
Hoewel het soms meer beschrijvend dan onthullend aanvoelt, blijft het een intrigerend en degelijk onderbouwd werk. Een aanrader voor wie geïnteresseerd is in macht, media en de dunne lijn tussen invloed en controle.
‘Vreugdevuur van de Murdochs’ schetst een meeslepend en onthullend portret van mediamagnaat Rupert Murdoch en de immense invloed die hij decennialang uitoefende op politiek en publieke opinie. Auteur Gabriel Sherman – bekend van The Loudest Voice in the Room – baseert zich op diepgravend onderzoek en een indrukwekkende hoeveelheid bronnen, wat het boek inhoudelijk bijzonder sterk maakt.
Sherman laat niet alleen Murdochs zakelijke meedogenloosheid zien, maar ook de complexe en vaak schrijnende dynamiek binnen zijn familie. De rivaliteit tussen zijn kinderen leest soms als een aflevering van Succession – niet toevallig een serie die sterk door Murdochs clan geïnspireerd zou zijn. Het persoonlijke en het politieke raken voortdurend met elkaar verweven.
Daarnaast biedt het boek een verontrustend maar boeiend inzicht in Murdochs invloed op wereldleiders als Margaret Thatcher en Donald Trump. Je beseft al lezend hoe groot de impact van media kan zijn op mondiale besluitvorming én op onze eigen beeldvorming.
Hoewel het soms meer beschrijvend dan onthullend aanvoelt, blijft het een intrigerend en degelijk onderbouwd werk. Een aanrader voor wie geïnteresseerd is in macht, media en de dunne lijn tussen invloed en controle.
February 28, 2026
Yikes! What an odd family (or families, I guess, since he's had 5 wives). The HBO show Succession, which was very well made, did a good job portraying the weird Murdoch milieu.
Rupert Murdoch didn't come across quite as hardcore of an ideologue as I'd thought he'd be, but he definitely still, overall, has an affinity for the Fox News slop that feeds peoples' ever-growing brainworms. He mostly just seems like an insecure, broken, robotic dude, laser focused on growing his fiefdom, almost by any means necessary, no matter who gets hurt, without the desire to use his noggin for much else.
Murdoch has an estimated net worth around $23 billion. On last year's Forbes billionaires list world ranking, he was #87. The list isn't an exact science, of course; suffice it to say, he's one of the wealthiest people on the planet. He's a guy who has been at just about every powerful table that exists. What's staggering about him is that, despite this, he has a huge persecution fetish. The ubiquitous "THEY" are always coming to get him.
If he wants to find the world's boogeymen he should stop wondering about what's hiding under his bed and take a look in the mirror, because he's a main one.
Rupert Murdoch didn't come across quite as hardcore of an ideologue as I'd thought he'd be, but he definitely still, overall, has an affinity for the Fox News slop that feeds peoples' ever-growing brainworms. He mostly just seems like an insecure, broken, robotic dude, laser focused on growing his fiefdom, almost by any means necessary, no matter who gets hurt, without the desire to use his noggin for much else.
Murdoch has an estimated net worth around $23 billion. On last year's Forbes billionaires list world ranking, he was #87. The list isn't an exact science, of course; suffice it to say, he's one of the wealthiest people on the planet. He's a guy who has been at just about every powerful table that exists. What's staggering about him is that, despite this, he has a huge persecution fetish. The ubiquitous "THEY" are always coming to get him.
If he wants to find the world's boogeymen he should stop wondering about what's hiding under his bed and take a look in the mirror, because he's a main one.
June 11, 2026
Prior to reading this book, my impression of Rupert Murdoch was not very complimentary, based largely on his public image and news reports surrounding the various events that have coloured his life. I jumped in, hoping to be surprised by how unlike his public persona he actually was, and be reminded that one should not always trust what is read in the papers (especially Murdoch's type of journalism).
How wrong I was. Rupert Murdoch is even more abhorrent than I ever believed possible. His business integrity and familial loyalty is an absolute wreck, shameful in the extreme. I found myself getting angry at the man's treatment of everyone who has had the misfortune to meet him (or be born into his family). The level of his deplorable actions has elevated Murdoch in my mind to being one of the most reprehensible figures of the 20th century. I wish him nothing but ill-fortune.
This book covers the life of the man and does not shy away from revealing his obsession for control, and his desire to influence governments and other powerful people. It's a compelling read, and shines a stark light on to the billionaire media tycoon's private and business life. It's a bit like lifting a rock from the soil and seeing the slimy slug in all its grotesque glory.
How wrong I was. Rupert Murdoch is even more abhorrent than I ever believed possible. His business integrity and familial loyalty is an absolute wreck, shameful in the extreme. I found myself getting angry at the man's treatment of everyone who has had the misfortune to meet him (or be born into his family). The level of his deplorable actions has elevated Murdoch in my mind to being one of the most reprehensible figures of the 20th century. I wish him nothing but ill-fortune.
This book covers the life of the man and does not shy away from revealing his obsession for control, and his desire to influence governments and other powerful people. It's a compelling read, and shines a stark light on to the billionaire media tycoon's private and business life. It's a bit like lifting a rock from the soil and seeing the slimy slug in all its grotesque glory.
April 17, 2026
Entertaining. Although if you watched the Succession series, you hardly need to read the book. And although labelling such a chauvinistic story as 'entertaining' makes me uneasy.
Top quote: Pursuit of profit without values is a recipe for disaster.
I underestimated the ability of a profit motive to make people do terrible things; to make companies make terrible things.
One consideration: there seems to be a common thread occurring more often than not with the lives of people who attain great notoriety and power: having had a neglectful, harsh, or in other ways unpleasant father. What a horrible teaching. And what miserable lives it generates, once you go past the transient veneer of happiness that money and fame bring to these people.
Emotional intelligence and being a nurturing, attentive parent may not be a recipe for buying multimillion mansions on all continents and flying in a private jet, but I'll happily take that over the madness you read in this book.
Top quote: Pursuit of profit without values is a recipe for disaster.
I underestimated the ability of a profit motive to make people do terrible things; to make companies make terrible things.
One consideration: there seems to be a common thread occurring more often than not with the lives of people who attain great notoriety and power: having had a neglectful, harsh, or in other ways unpleasant father. What a horrible teaching. And what miserable lives it generates, once you go past the transient veneer of happiness that money and fame bring to these people.
Emotional intelligence and being a nurturing, attentive parent may not be a recipe for buying multimillion mansions on all continents and flying in a private jet, but I'll happily take that over the madness you read in this book.
April 3, 2026
This wasn’t what I was expecting - which isn’t a bad thing. What I was expecting was much more procedural, a play by play of the court drama that led to Lachlan becoming heir-apparent.
This is very much instead, a decades long biography of the trainwreck that is this family with far too much money, far too much power, and far too much influence. I’ve read accounts on Murdoch that I’ve enjoyed more, but I appreciated how expansive the focus on the whole family is, since that’s much rarer. It’s very evident that this is well researched, but I equally find it fascinating that there were maybe three? sources in the entire 150 who had their name attributed to their quote. That I think itself, mores than the biography and what was said, is the most indicative of the power, sway, and fear this family has instilled and will always, it seems keep.
This is very much instead, a decades long biography of the trainwreck that is this family with far too much money, far too much power, and far too much influence. I’ve read accounts on Murdoch that I’ve enjoyed more, but I appreciated how expansive the focus on the whole family is, since that’s much rarer. It’s very evident that this is well researched, but I equally find it fascinating that there were maybe three? sources in the entire 150 who had their name attributed to their quote. That I think itself, mores than the biography and what was said, is the most indicative of the power, sway, and fear this family has instilled and will always, it seems keep.
May 30, 2026
What can you expect from a family that has the major media outlet in three countries: Australia, England, and the USA? Given the pressure of getting there first with "breaking news" is a challenge, and frequently contains lies. The Murdoch family has been in battles to obtain the "money-making" media, newspapers, and TV in influential locations while having connections in "special places". In this process, enemies are made, and when they are within the family, they can get nasty. This is the story of the Murdocks, nasty family relations, multiple marriages, and a limited family relationship.
Gabriel Sherman tells all the details of "deals" and the connivings of Rupert Murdoch that produced the world's most influential media outlet, which yielded a conservative political following. This does not happen without "casualties" along the way, especially, who will inherit all this.
Gabriel Sherman tells all the details of "deals" and the connivings of Rupert Murdoch that produced the world's most influential media outlet, which yielded a conservative political following. This does not happen without "casualties" along the way, especially, who will inherit all this.
June 11, 2026
A biography of a notorious, powerful Australian family, Bonfire of the Murdochs (2026) by Gabriel Sherman, is subtitled: How the Epic Fight to Control the Last Great Media Dynasty Broke a Family – and the World. It covers the Murdoch family’s rise from humble Scottish beginnings to an Australian newspaper owner, then a media mogul, who takes on the world, forever changing journalism and politics. It's a well-researched work with a good index and footnotes of quality primary and secondary sources. It captures the Murdoch family saga over a century, with insightful psychological and historical analysis in a flowing tale of a media titan. It’s an eminently readable non-fiction study into one of the most powerful media empires and family, has a five star read rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without any inducement.
March 6, 2026
The author states that 2nd wife Anna forgoes about a $2 billion divorce settlement and instead receives only $100 million in cash along with the Trust that all four children will have an equal share + voting rights in the business.
When I heard this, it didn’t seem correct because I thought it was common knowledge that Anna got one of the largest divorce settlements ever. Doing research I found “Anna Murdoch received an estimated $1.7 billion in assets, including $110 million in cash, from her 1999 divorce from media mogul Rupert Murdoch after 32 years of marriage. The settlement was primarily in News Corp. stock.”. If the author is NOT correct regarding this minor point what else is NOT correct?
Everybody is unlikeable, and it’s irking that they keep getting wealthier and more powerful.
When I heard this, it didn’t seem correct because I thought it was common knowledge that Anna got one of the largest divorce settlements ever. Doing research I found “Anna Murdoch received an estimated $1.7 billion in assets, including $110 million in cash, from her 1999 divorce from media mogul Rupert Murdoch after 32 years of marriage. The settlement was primarily in News Corp. stock.”. If the author is NOT correct regarding this minor point what else is NOT correct?
Everybody is unlikeable, and it’s irking that they keep getting wealthier and more powerful.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The Story of Rupert Murdoch, the conservative media mogul behind Fox News among many other outlets, and the battle over succession between his children. I wanted so much more from this book. This book is barely even about the succession battle, the first two thirds are about Murdoch and his rise and pinnacle, and then we get the succession stuff but it is presented in a very un-juicy way. I wanted way more mess and toxicity, and instead got just like boring corporate maneuvering. I dunno, maybe the Roy’s ruined this for me, because Logan’s kids were really reprehensible and the Murdoch’s just seemed petulant and self-absorbed.
April 6, 2026
This book offers a compelling insight into Rupert Murdoch’s media empire and the immense influence he’s wielded over journalism and politics. The family dynamics are just as gripping: his relationships with his adult children are fraught, heartbreaking, and shockingly strategic. It’s hard not to feel for them, even as some prove themselves to be just as ambitious and calculating in their own ways.
As a piece of well-reported journalism, it’s engaging and highly readable. While it may not stick with me quite as much as the Roger Ailes biography, it’s still a riveting portrait of a polarizing, powerful figure who has shaped the modern media landscape in profound ways.
As a piece of well-reported journalism, it’s engaging and highly readable. While it may not stick with me quite as much as the Roger Ailes biography, it’s still a riveting portrait of a polarizing, powerful figure who has shaped the modern media landscape in profound ways.
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