Lachlan Murdoch Biography and Net Worth

Lachlan Murdoch is the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Corporation, which is among the most recognized and influential media companies in the world. In this role, he oversees the Company’s premier portfolio of news, sports and entertainment assets. Mr. Murdoch was instrumental in the spinoff of FOX by 21st Century Fox and the establishment of FOX as a standalone public company.

Mr. Murdoch has spent the past two decades building, operating and investing in many of the world’s most prominent television and publishing businesses. He currently serves as Co-Chairman of News Corp and Executive Chairman of NOVA Entertainment, an Australian media company. Mr. Murdoch previously served as Non-Executive Chairman of Ten Network Holdings.

Mr. Murdoch served as Executive Chairman of 21st Century Fox prior to the closing of the merger of 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company in March 2019.  He began that role in 2015, working directly with the company’s senior management and Board of Directors to develop global strategies and set the overall corporate vision. Mr. Murdoch served as a member of the 21st Century Fox Board of Directors from 1996 until the closing of the merger with Disney.

Earlier, Mr. Murdoch served as Co-Chairman of 21st Century Fox and also held a number of senior executive roles from 1994 – 2005. From 2000 – 2005, Mr. Murdoch served as Deputy Chief Operating Officer of 21st Century Fox (previously known as News Corporation), a role in which he was directly responsible for the company’s U.S. television stations group and publishing assets. As part of his duties as Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Murdoch was Chairman of Fox Television Stations (FTS) and Publisher of the New York Post. He also oversaw HarperCollins and the company’s lines of business in Australia, including REA, Australia’s leading online real estate business.  He led the company’s purchase of a controlling stake in REA, which began with an original cash investment of approximately $1 million and resulted in a corporate asset that is currently valued at more than $5 billion.  At FTS, Mr. Murdoch oversaw the company’s 35 owned-and-operated television stations, where he raised the bar on local news coverage across the nation, increasing the total number of local news hours across the group to more than 850 per week.

At the New York Post, he overhauled the tabloid and grew its circulation by more than 40 percent. During his tenure, the Post became the nation’s fastest-growing newspaper and the seventh largest in the United States.

In 2005, Mr. Murdoch founded Illyria Pty, a successful private investment company. In 2009, Illyria acquired 50 percent of DMG Radio, a network of radio stations, which later was renamed NOVA Entertainment.  After Mr. Murdoch became its Chairman in 2009, NOVA grew exponentially, nearly doubling in value during the first three years of his tenure, while its EBITDA rose more than threefold, from $16M in 2009 to $52M in 2014.  In 2012, Illyria purchased the remaining 50 percent and, under Mr. Murdoch’s leadership, NOVA Entertainment became Australia’s leading network of FM stations.

Mr. Murdoch holds a B.A. from Princeton University.