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The Successor: The High-Stakes Life of Lachlan Murdoch
A book about power, apprenticeship, and succession in the first family of media
An heir apparent to the first global media dynasty, Lachlan Murdoch has been waiting to run his father Rupert’s empire all his life. In this riveting first biography of a little-understood but hugely influential figure, acclaimed journalist Paddy Manning can the dutiful son hang onto the empire, or will the third generation of Murdoch moguls prove the last?
Despite a life in the spotlight, Lachlan’s personality, politics, and business acumen remain enigmatic. Is he the ultra-conservative ideologue media reports maintain, or a free-thinking libertarian, as some friends suggest?
After emerging victorious from the Murdoch family’s turbulent succession wars, Lachlan is stepping up at a time of unprecedented instability. What can we expect from his time at the helm, and does he have what it takes to chart a future for this century-old company? This is a book about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the global media world, and about America in the age of Trump and Murdoch. It is a book about power, apprenticeship, and succession.
An heir apparent to the first global media dynasty, Lachlan Murdoch has been waiting to run his father Rupert’s empire all his life. In this riveting first biography of a little-understood but hugely influential figure, acclaimed journalist Paddy Manning can the dutiful son hang onto the empire, or will the third generation of Murdoch moguls prove the last?
Despite a life in the spotlight, Lachlan’s personality, politics, and business acumen remain enigmatic. Is he the ultra-conservative ideologue media reports maintain, or a free-thinking libertarian, as some friends suggest?
After emerging victorious from the Murdoch family’s turbulent succession wars, Lachlan is stepping up at a time of unprecedented instability. What can we expect from his time at the helm, and does he have what it takes to chart a future for this century-old company? This is a book about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the global media world, and about America in the age of Trump and Murdoch. It is a book about power, apprenticeship, and succession.
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Published November 22, 2022
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About the author
Paddy Manning
9 books14 followersPaddy Manning is the editor of The Monthly Today, the daily newsletter produced by The Monthly. During almost twenty years in journalism he has worked for Crikey, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review and The Australian, and reported for ABC TV’s Four Corners. A three-time winner in the Citigroup Journalism Awards for Excellence, Manning founded the magazine Ethical Investor.
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May 12, 2023
The Successor: The title of Paddy Manning’s unauthorised biography of Lachlan Murdoch, oldest son of media giant Rupert, is a conscious play on the immensely popular fiction TV series Succession, which itself is clearly based on the Murdoch dynasty.
So if you’re familiar with the series, one of the first questions you will ask yourself is which of the fictional magnate Kendall Roy’s four dysfunctional children best corresponds to the real-life Lachlan - the removed oldest son Connor, the power-hungry and twitchy Kendall, the crudely adolescent boy child Roman or the politically savvy young sister Shiv? Superficially, Lachlan maps to Kendall and James to Connor - and perhaps Elizabeth to Shiv.
But Lachlan does not have Kendall’s business smarts. In fact, if there is any overwhelming impression of the man from Manning’s meticulously researched and incredibly detailed Murdoch history is that is Lachlan is probably closest in resemblance to Roman. He is clearly interested in money first and foremost, but unlike his father does not appear to have agenda beyond staying rich - buying luxury yachts and ever-bigger houses and mouthing US platitudes about ‘freedom’. What is most striking amid all the wheeling and dealing over more than three decades is a complete lack of substance. Instead, we see over and over in this book how Lachlan just wants to be one of the ordinary guys - while sailing a $40 million yacht, driving a Porsche with his tattooed arm out the window and living in a Bellevue Hill mansion that takes up half the suburb.
Again and again in the book, we see Lachlan wanting all the trappings of power and wealth but with none of the responsibility. A ‘bro’ to his bones, Lachlan loves the laidback Australian lifestyle so much that he returned here with his wife and three children three years ago when the pandemic hit. He had grown weary of the divisive and ugly politics of the US, without any reflection whatsoever of the role that his own Fox News Network had played in creating and exploiting that division. Now, he attempts to run the empire from Sydney, getting up in the middle of the night for Zoom calls. Anyone who has worked for a multi-national company knows how hard that can be, but for a CEO attempting to run the business - and manage the boardroom politics - from the periphery it sounds totally untenable.
Naturally, Manning goes into great detail on all of Lachlan’s business ventures - from the doomed Super League experiment, to the failed telco OneTel and to the disastrous billionaires’ takeover of the Ten Network deals to the rarer and more successful investments like the Australian real estate listings business REA. In America, he has slowly - very slowly - emerged from beneath the lengthening shadow of his legendary father, as seen most recently in the sell-out of much of the family business to Disney. But there does not appear to be any larger narrative motivating him. He has acquired his father’s love of deal-making but without any longer-term intention or vision, as far as the book reveals anyway.
Instead, he has run Fox with a dangerously hands-off policy, letting the network’s neo-fascist demagogues like (the recently fired) Tucker Carlson foment a dangerous atmosphere in the US that has led to mass killings by deranged individuals against Jewish people at prayer in synagogues and black people going about their everyday lives in shopping centres. Worst of all, he stood lamely by while the Fox network indulged the outright lies from Trump about the 2020 presidential election being stolen. In a lawsuit since dropped, Australian newsletter Crikey last year was sued by Lachlan for saying the Murdochs - in fanning the Fox flames - were non-indicted co-conspirators to an attempted coup, and it is not hard to see the case for that claim.
Manning alludes to observations from some who know Lachlan that his personal politics are further to the right even than Rupert’s. But I’m not so sure. My take on him is that his barely expressed political values are a third-hand cover for his greed. He is not a deep thinker by any means and will do whatever continues to make him money, even so far as turning a blind eye to the frankly evil monetising of division and outrage by Fox. In that sense, he is more dangerous than his father, seeking to naively export to Australia the deranged culture wars that fuel his Fox News empire (not because he passionately believes in the ideology but more because he sees it as a successful business model in a crowded attention economy).
If there is a criticism of this book, it is the lack of analysis about the young Murdoch’s motivations beyond the purely acquisitive and what might happen when Rupert dies. To be fair, Manning alludes to this in the final chapter, quoting a Wall St analyst as saying the day that happens, the unimpressive and dilettantish Lachlan will be fired. But that is the sum of it. The straight reporting is solid, but I would have liked more of a cultural and psychological analysis of someone who has been bequeathed immense power and wealth. What does he want to use it for? What do others think of the succession plan? Why has Rupert placed so much faith in him? And what does the rest of the family think? Perhaps that is the drawback of an unauthorised biography. Manning does not have the opportunity to get close enough to the main actors to probe any deeper, so much of the material is third hand.
Others may disagree, but I am less interested in the details of the business machinations (the eye-glazing technicalities of the sell-out to Disney left me skimming ahead) and more interested in the reflections on how power and influence works. Also, I’d like more authorial analysis on the implications of the splintering of the old mainstream media empires by the internet and rise of social media. But perhaps that is for another book. The culture, politics and media story is more interesting than the business one, at least for this reader.
The Successor also predates the Murdochs’ latest move to completely undo the 2013 separation of the company between the Fox assets and the traditional print businesses under News Corp. This is being flagged in some quarters as Rupert’s final act and an attempt to tidy everything up for Lachlan before he shuffles off his mortal coil. But many shareholders outside the 40% controlled by the Murdoch family trust are uneasy about the move - particularly as it will link the print assets back to the increasingly dubious Fox with all its reputational and governance risks. (Postscript: The reversal of the demerger has also now been dropped!)
For anyone who cares about democracy, the demise of the Murdoch dynasty cannot come quickly enough. And this last throw of the dice by the patriarch looks more like desperation than anything. If the vain, vacant and insubstantial Lachlan is indeed ‘The Successor’ of the title, it is hard to see a grand plan that will work much beyond the death of the founder - suggesting this dynasty will go the way of others in history. The third generation squanders it all.
If there is any lingering message for the reader from Manning’s book, that is the one.
So if you’re familiar with the series, one of the first questions you will ask yourself is which of the fictional magnate Kendall Roy’s four dysfunctional children best corresponds to the real-life Lachlan - the removed oldest son Connor, the power-hungry and twitchy Kendall, the crudely adolescent boy child Roman or the politically savvy young sister Shiv? Superficially, Lachlan maps to Kendall and James to Connor - and perhaps Elizabeth to Shiv.
But Lachlan does not have Kendall’s business smarts. In fact, if there is any overwhelming impression of the man from Manning’s meticulously researched and incredibly detailed Murdoch history is that is Lachlan is probably closest in resemblance to Roman. He is clearly interested in money first and foremost, but unlike his father does not appear to have agenda beyond staying rich - buying luxury yachts and ever-bigger houses and mouthing US platitudes about ‘freedom’. What is most striking amid all the wheeling and dealing over more than three decades is a complete lack of substance. Instead, we see over and over in this book how Lachlan just wants to be one of the ordinary guys - while sailing a $40 million yacht, driving a Porsche with his tattooed arm out the window and living in a Bellevue Hill mansion that takes up half the suburb.
Again and again in the book, we see Lachlan wanting all the trappings of power and wealth but with none of the responsibility. A ‘bro’ to his bones, Lachlan loves the laidback Australian lifestyle so much that he returned here with his wife and three children three years ago when the pandemic hit. He had grown weary of the divisive and ugly politics of the US, without any reflection whatsoever of the role that his own Fox News Network had played in creating and exploiting that division. Now, he attempts to run the empire from Sydney, getting up in the middle of the night for Zoom calls. Anyone who has worked for a multi-national company knows how hard that can be, but for a CEO attempting to run the business - and manage the boardroom politics - from the periphery it sounds totally untenable.
Naturally, Manning goes into great detail on all of Lachlan’s business ventures - from the doomed Super League experiment, to the failed telco OneTel and to the disastrous billionaires’ takeover of the Ten Network deals to the rarer and more successful investments like the Australian real estate listings business REA. In America, he has slowly - very slowly - emerged from beneath the lengthening shadow of his legendary father, as seen most recently in the sell-out of much of the family business to Disney. But there does not appear to be any larger narrative motivating him. He has acquired his father’s love of deal-making but without any longer-term intention or vision, as far as the book reveals anyway.
Instead, he has run Fox with a dangerously hands-off policy, letting the network’s neo-fascist demagogues like (the recently fired) Tucker Carlson foment a dangerous atmosphere in the US that has led to mass killings by deranged individuals against Jewish people at prayer in synagogues and black people going about their everyday lives in shopping centres. Worst of all, he stood lamely by while the Fox network indulged the outright lies from Trump about the 2020 presidential election being stolen. In a lawsuit since dropped, Australian newsletter Crikey last year was sued by Lachlan for saying the Murdochs - in fanning the Fox flames - were non-indicted co-conspirators to an attempted coup, and it is not hard to see the case for that claim.
Manning alludes to observations from some who know Lachlan that his personal politics are further to the right even than Rupert’s. But I’m not so sure. My take on him is that his barely expressed political values are a third-hand cover for his greed. He is not a deep thinker by any means and will do whatever continues to make him money, even so far as turning a blind eye to the frankly evil monetising of division and outrage by Fox. In that sense, he is more dangerous than his father, seeking to naively export to Australia the deranged culture wars that fuel his Fox News empire (not because he passionately believes in the ideology but more because he sees it as a successful business model in a crowded attention economy).
If there is a criticism of this book, it is the lack of analysis about the young Murdoch’s motivations beyond the purely acquisitive and what might happen when Rupert dies. To be fair, Manning alludes to this in the final chapter, quoting a Wall St analyst as saying the day that happens, the unimpressive and dilettantish Lachlan will be fired. But that is the sum of it. The straight reporting is solid, but I would have liked more of a cultural and psychological analysis of someone who has been bequeathed immense power and wealth. What does he want to use it for? What do others think of the succession plan? Why has Rupert placed so much faith in him? And what does the rest of the family think? Perhaps that is the drawback of an unauthorised biography. Manning does not have the opportunity to get close enough to the main actors to probe any deeper, so much of the material is third hand.
Others may disagree, but I am less interested in the details of the business machinations (the eye-glazing technicalities of the sell-out to Disney left me skimming ahead) and more interested in the reflections on how power and influence works. Also, I’d like more authorial analysis on the implications of the splintering of the old mainstream media empires by the internet and rise of social media. But perhaps that is for another book. The culture, politics and media story is more interesting than the business one, at least for this reader.
The Successor also predates the Murdochs’ latest move to completely undo the 2013 separation of the company between the Fox assets and the traditional print businesses under News Corp. This is being flagged in some quarters as Rupert’s final act and an attempt to tidy everything up for Lachlan before he shuffles off his mortal coil. But many shareholders outside the 40% controlled by the Murdoch family trust are uneasy about the move - particularly as it will link the print assets back to the increasingly dubious Fox with all its reputational and governance risks. (Postscript: The reversal of the demerger has also now been dropped!)
For anyone who cares about democracy, the demise of the Murdoch dynasty cannot come quickly enough. And this last throw of the dice by the patriarch looks more like desperation than anything. If the vain, vacant and insubstantial Lachlan is indeed ‘The Successor’ of the title, it is hard to see a grand plan that will work much beyond the death of the founder - suggesting this dynasty will go the way of others in history. The third generation squanders it all.
If there is any lingering message for the reader from Manning’s book, that is the one.
November 29, 2022
Well-researched and well-written. Reminds me of Pamela Williams' Killing Fairfax, another critical read for those who want to understand Australia's media landscape. Plenty of detail regarding the history of News Corp and Fox Corp and the impact these businesses have on elections.
Missing a meaty critical analysis of Lachlan Murdoch regarding his politics, motivations and goals with the exception of the final chapter. This may be due to LM's documented efforts to keep out of the public eye or author's fear of aggravating the most powerful media owner in the Western world (the latter is my speculation alone). The latter is certainly understandable - in the author's own words to me at his book launch, "I have a popgun. Lachlan has a howitzer."
Slowly getting to the point where mainstream journalists are admitting that the Murdoch family support one side of politics, but there's still a lot of tiptoeing about. References to "conservative" and "progressive" are relative terms and mean little when writers should spit it out and say the Murdochs support the Liberal Party. The author also doesn't call out LM's public claims about being "socially liberal" when LM's friends include former Liberal PM Tony Abbott, whose policy record speaks for itself.
Despite these flaws (which again may come be calculated choices by the author rather than oversight) still a worthwhile read for Australian media nerds.
Missing a meaty critical analysis of Lachlan Murdoch regarding his politics, motivations and goals with the exception of the final chapter. This may be due to LM's documented efforts to keep out of the public eye or author's fear of aggravating the most powerful media owner in the Western world (the latter is my speculation alone). The latter is certainly understandable - in the author's own words to me at his book launch, "I have a popgun. Lachlan has a howitzer."
Slowly getting to the point where mainstream journalists are admitting that the Murdoch family support one side of politics, but there's still a lot of tiptoeing about. References to "conservative" and "progressive" are relative terms and mean little when writers should spit it out and say the Murdochs support the Liberal Party. The author also doesn't call out LM's public claims about being "socially liberal" when LM's friends include former Liberal PM Tony Abbott, whose policy record speaks for itself.
Despite these flaws (which again may come be calculated choices by the author rather than oversight) still a worthwhile read for Australian media nerds.
January 15, 2023
This unauthorised bio of the heir to News Corp and Fox is a compelling and page turning read - even though much of it focuses on business dealings (which is not my jam).
I think the key here is how expertly the author weaves context - world news and events (phone hacking!), political turmoil, the pandemic, etc - into the business narrative and thus hooks the non-business reader. I also found the big deals (One.tel; Foxtel;Disney; Super league… so many) laid out in such clear detail and plain English that I was agog at the vast losses, the acquisition sums and the politics of asset building. The interplay between Australia, the UK and the US is also so interesting.
This is all relatable through familiarity with news but there are many enjoyable lightbulb moments, when these familiar events are woven into the machinations of a dynasty, implications of new progeny (Chloe and Grace), divorce, sibling rivalry, inheritance and of course succession plans.
Takeaways: Lachlan is disappointingly much more right wing than Rupert and closely aligned to politicians in this camp (ultra conservative former PM Tony Abbott is a close friend). He’s not willing to stand up and own an opinion. His brother James is far more open minded and willing to put his views out there (about climate change, for instance, and racism etc). Lachlan’s primary interest is in the deal and making money (not in journalism, nor the inherent ethics).
His wife, Sarah, doesn’t get much space in the book and I would like to know more about her influence on Lachlan. Does she support his appalling record at Fox where commentators are free to fire up hate? By contrast, James’ wife is profiled as having political heft and her own opinions.
And nit picking: there is a reference to Rupert and Jerry Hall heading away where the author references them as the “elderly couple”. Jerry was in her late fifties! I’m sure other Australian luminaries - Nicole K, Kylie M, Elle Mc - close to that age - wouldn’t consider themselves ‘elderly’ 😂.
I so enjoyed this well researched book and now consider my news feed bias with an even more critical eye!
I think the key here is how expertly the author weaves context - world news and events (phone hacking!), political turmoil, the pandemic, etc - into the business narrative and thus hooks the non-business reader. I also found the big deals (One.tel; Foxtel;Disney; Super league… so many) laid out in such clear detail and plain English that I was agog at the vast losses, the acquisition sums and the politics of asset building. The interplay between Australia, the UK and the US is also so interesting.
This is all relatable through familiarity with news but there are many enjoyable lightbulb moments, when these familiar events are woven into the machinations of a dynasty, implications of new progeny (Chloe and Grace), divorce, sibling rivalry, inheritance and of course succession plans.
Takeaways: Lachlan is disappointingly much more right wing than Rupert and closely aligned to politicians in this camp (ultra conservative former PM Tony Abbott is a close friend). He’s not willing to stand up and own an opinion. His brother James is far more open minded and willing to put his views out there (about climate change, for instance, and racism etc). Lachlan’s primary interest is in the deal and making money (not in journalism, nor the inherent ethics).
His wife, Sarah, doesn’t get much space in the book and I would like to know more about her influence on Lachlan. Does she support his appalling record at Fox where commentators are free to fire up hate? By contrast, James’ wife is profiled as having political heft and her own opinions.
And nit picking: there is a reference to Rupert and Jerry Hall heading away where the author references them as the “elderly couple”. Jerry was in her late fifties! I’m sure other Australian luminaries - Nicole K, Kylie M, Elle Mc - close to that age - wouldn’t consider themselves ‘elderly’ 😂.
I so enjoyed this well researched book and now consider my news feed bias with an even more critical eye!
January 28, 2023
The Murdoch’s are one of the most influential media-owning families in the world and, therefore, writing the biography of Lachlan Murdoch will always be difficult. Through fear of retribution, lawsuits, lack of public information, and extreme security and privacy, revealing the truth of the Murdoch’s, and in particular, Lachlan, is an insurmountable challenge. Despite such circumstances, author Paddy Manning has produced a well-researched, interesting, and very readable Lachlan Murdoch biography. Although Lachlan’s earlier life is well-known, once he moves into the family business his personal details become more murky and the author relies more on describing his business dealings than the person himself. Although this book does not comprehensively reveal Lachlan Murdoch, it might be as close as we ever get.
November 9, 2022
Paddy Manning is a great author (I loved Boganaire!) and this is another easy to read biography. Paddy doesn’t get too bogged down in the details but highlights where necessary. Although I would have liked a little more detail around major business highlights, like the Disney deal. His subject for this book has not given him a lot to work with, it turns out Lachie Murdoch is actually quite boring!
November 29, 2022
A book unlikely in its field to be unpretentiously written without too much fluff and faux-elegance. Having worked for Murdoch newspapers in the past, Paddy Manning has to be careful how he words things - and he does it well haha. For some strange reason I did not feel such bitterness towards Lachlan Murdoch while I was reading the book. Separate the businessman from the business, maybe?
January 11, 2023
Very detailed catalogue of everything that is known so far about Lachlan Murdoch, notoriously private possibly Rupert’s successor. By the end of this you know a lot about what others can tell you but almost nothing about what Lachlan thinks or what motivates him. So starting out as someone we know very little about that is how we finish.
April 28, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Very good comprehensive overview; it partially read like all of the public sources had been pulled together in the one piece of work. The narrative was as much about understanding the corporate structure of the Murdoch world, as opposed to anything about Lachlan Murdoch himself.
Read
May 4, 2023If you want to know what the life of Lachlan Murdoch looks from the outside, this is your book. It is very well written and sourced, but lacks any inside details. With a Murdoch that was always going to be a high bar. Yet it is disapointing in a sense that at the end of the book you have no idea what drives Lachlan or what he felt during all the events that are described in the book.
March 14, 2024
Masterfully written by Manning, I finished this book feeling quite proud of the way he had constructed this entire book without ever sitting down with his subject. Showing grace and perspective while letting the facts speak for themselves, this was an interesting look into the world of LKM — and provides a lot of food for thought about what might be still to come.
January 27, 2023
The Successor
I loved this book. It is a quick read and paced well. A perfect blend of economic realities and the political themes that shape them plus business insight into News Ltd from the Australian perspective.
I loved this book. It is a quick read and paced well. A perfect blend of economic realities and the political themes that shape them plus business insight into News Ltd from the Australian perspective.
February 7, 2023
Nothing new here. This is a well written summary of the Murdoch family which seems to bring together publicly available information. But there are no special insights or information that makes this a must read.
April 5, 2023
The real life Succession. Fascinating to read about the anointed heir to one of the most powerful media brands in the world. Fitting that the story seems somewhat in the shadow of Rupert's more interesting life.
November 9, 2022
If you're Australian/British/American OR a media/political nerd you absolutely must read this. Like, you thought you knew, but you don't.
January 6, 2023
Strongly recommend anyone who is studying media/communications/PR and/or journalism to read this book. Well written and explores the life of the next generation of media mogul.
January 22, 2023
Very well written biography by an excellent author. Unbiased, detailed but not too detailed. A pleasure to read. Does not require a detailed knowledge of corporate finance.
February 3, 2023
Enjoyed the book a lot. Very detailed. The subject was entirely objectionable, as one would imagine. Born on third, thinks he hit a triple.
February 10, 2023
Well research and super informative
February 20, 2023
Real life Succession. Loved the details in this.
Read
February 26, 2023terrifying/fascinating
March 13, 2023
Found the early years when News Corp was being established in Australia fascinating compared to the second half of the book which covered the Trump years.
April 8, 2023
A detailed biography about Lachlan Murdoch. Did not finish it as I don't find it particularly interesting .
May 15, 2023
IRL Succession
October 12, 2023
Huge Kendall Roy energy
October 25, 2023
Appreciated the nuanced reporting. Don’t think Lachlan is great enough of a character to warrant a bio worth reading.
December 26, 2023
2.5 stars
I listened to the audio version.
Lachlan is a bit dull, so it was a bit dull.
The Murdoch book by Paul Barry is so much better - I would recommend that instead.
I listened to the audio version.
Lachlan is a bit dull, so it was a bit dull.
The Murdoch book by Paul Barry is so much better - I would recommend that instead.
November 2, 2024
A very timely book giving the family court battle in Arizona over Rupert's attempt to change the terms of his will of that Lachlan ends up with it all, instead of shared equally among four of Rupert's six children. Paddy's book goes in depth about Lachlan some of the conflicts between his behaviour in business and in his personal life. A great read and certainly adds to the body of work on the Murdoch family.
December 7, 2024
I found it was too bogged down in finance. I wanted more about the family, especially James, Elisabeth and Prudence.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2025
Timely. Quick read. 80% Fox/News history, and 20% Lachlan bio.
October 18, 2025
3.75 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
This is an interesting and not flattering look at Lachlan Murdoch’s life and career. It’s well researched and left leaning but well written.
This is an interesting and not flattering look at Lachlan Murdoch’s life and career. It’s well researched and left leaning but well written.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews