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Murdoch Hopes To Divide Media Empire Between Children

Rupert Murdoch turns 80 in March, and sources inside News Corp. say his main goal is to devise a way to return Elisabeth and Lachlan to the company and divide up the empire between them and their youngest brother, James, the only Murdoch child currently working at News Corp. (Murdoch's eldest daughter, Pru, is not involved in the business, though she will inherit part of the family's 37% voting control of News Corp. along with her three siblings. Grace, 10, and Chloe, 8, the two children with his current wife, will inherit a financial interest in News Corp. but no voting control.)

The patriarch has talked in the past about a scenario in which Elisabeth would oversee News Corp.'s entertainment assets; James would continue as head of News Corp.'s European and Asian assets, with a focus on its satellite and distribution operations; and Lachlan would be brought back to lead its newspaper assets. Under that plan, Chase Carey, News Corp.'s current president and COO, would remain as Murdoch's top lieutenant, providing objective oversight of the siblings until a successor is named.

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