Who Owns Murdoch's Company
The controlling owner of Murdoch's core media company is the Murdoch family through a complex trust and holding structure. Rupert Murdoch retains significant voting control via a family trust, while his sons Lachlan Murdoch and James Murdoch have held key board and executive roles. The main publicly traded entity, News Corp, is the parent of the publishing and digital real estate businesses, and its largest shareholders include the Murdoch family trusts and major institutional investors. For the latest ownership breakdown, you can check the latest SEC filings on the News Corp investor relations page SEC EDGAR News Corp Filings.
Murdoch's media assets are split across several public and private entities. The family's voting power is concentrated in News Corp and the former 21st Century Fox spin-off, which was restructured to separate entertainment assets from publishing. The Murdoch family trusts collectively hold a large percentage of the voting shares in News Corp, giving them effective control even though their economic ownership is diluted among public shareholders. This structure is common in family-controlled media conglomerates and is designed to preserve long-term influence over editorial and strategic decisions.
What Companies Are Part of Murdoch's Empire
The core publishing arm of Murdoch's empire includes major newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, the Times of London, and the Sunday Times, all operated under the News Corp umbrella. The company also owns digital real estate platforms like Realtor.com and Move, as well as Australian and British publishing assets. In the entertainment space, the former 21st Century Fox was split in 2019, with the Fox broadcasting and news assets forming the basis of Fox Corporation, which remains closely tied to the Murdoch family.
Fox Corporation and Other Key Entities
Fox Corporation, led by Lachlan Murdoch as CEO, operates the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox News, Fox Sports, and the Tubi streaming platform. The company went public in 2019 and trades under the ticker FOX, with the Murdoch family maintaining a controlling voting interest. In addition, the Murdoch family has stakes in other media and technology ventures, including investments in social media and digital news platforms, though these are often held through private vehicles rather than public companies.
How Much of Murdoch's Company Does the Family Own
The Murdoch family's effective control comes from a dual-class share structure and a family trust that holds a supermajority of voting shares. While the family's economic ownership is a fraction of the total shares outstanding, their voting power allows them to dominate board elections and major corporate decisions. The exact percentage of economic ownership shifts with each quarterly filing, but the voting control remains firmly in the family's hands through the trust structure.
Public disclosures and proxy statements provide the most accurate picture of the family's stake. For example, News Corp's annual proxy statement details the voting power held by the Murdoch family trusts and the distribution of shares among other major institutional investors. These filings show that the family's voting interest far exceeds its economic interest, a setup that is typical for media moguls who want to maintain control while raising capital from public markets. You can review the latest proxy materials on the News Corp investor relations page News Corp Investor Relations.