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Singer and environment activist Missy Higgins delivered a headline performance to guests at the event, as did Australian singer-songwriter Budjerah.
The New York Times revealed that Rupert Murdoch was engaged in a legal battle against three of his children over the future of the “irrevocable” family trust, which controls the media assets of Fox Corp and News Corp.
Murdoch senior plans to change the terms of the trust to give control to Lachlan Murdoch, 52, who he argues is more politically conservative than the other children, Elisabeth, Prudence and James, and is therefore more able to preserve the commercial value of the media company for all of his heirs.
The trust currently has eight votes: four controlled by Murdoch, and the remaining four controlled by the four children from his first two marriages. Murdoch’s youngest daughters, Chloe and Grace, from his third wife, Wendi Deng, do not have voting rights in the trust.
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Lachlan Murdoch is chairman of News Corp, whose publications in Australia include several tabloid newspapers and The Australian newspaper, as well as ownership of Sky News. Overseas, News Corp assets include The Wall Street Journal, The Sun and The Times of London. He is also chair and chief executive of Fox Corp.
Meanwhile, The New York Times journalist who revealed the legal stoush between Rupert Murdoch and his children said the media mogul faces a difficult legal battle in a US court.
Murdoch “will not be able to prevail” in his attempts to amend the Family Trust, if there’s any evidence it is to benefit Lachlan, or push aside the other kids “out of vindictiveness or anything other than a generous spirit” one of the authors of the report, Jim Rutenberg told ABC Melbourne’s Raf Epstein on Friday morning.
“It’s very hard to change these trusts. So this is not an easy case for him.”
“The court is saying A: he’s going to have to show at a trial that this was done in good faith, and the other three children are arguing, of course, it was not done in good faith,” he continued.
Rupert Murdoch with his sons Lachlan and James. Credit: Joel Ryan/Invision/AP
“This is favouritism for Lachlan and the key to the trust that still exists, they all are treated equally. They would argue this is unequal treatment.
“It’s not being done in good faith. There’s a lot of bad blood, especially between James, Rupert and Lachlan, so the judge is leaving it open to see this at trial.”