Inside the Murdochs’ Succession Drama
Michael Robertson, another of the new managing directors Rupert and Lachlan installed, then followed. He admitted, however, that he hadn’t done any substantive research into the original trust documents before casting his vote for Top Hat. However he did say that he had hired his father-in-law, who is a lawyer to look over the documents for him. Bill O’Donnell was the last of the new directors to speak. He explained that when he first heard who the client was he thought that he would be asked to serve as a director on the family trust for Alex Murdaugh, a South Carolina attorney convicted of killing his wife and son. “I thought Oh, no, that’s not something I want to be involved in.” He admitted that he did not review the rules that govern the Murdoch family Trust or the operating agreement of the new trustees he was voting for, but instead relied on lawyers to provide him with advice. In a way, he could only blame himself for the situation, as he was confined by the trust that he set up. But he signed off on the trust in 2006, before he picked Lachlan as his successor and before the family splintered politically.
As he saw it, the stakes had changed over the past 18 years. The older he became, the more he realized the importance of his conservative empire. He was not the kind of billionaire philanthropist like David Koch, Michael Bloomberg or Warren Buffett who used his fortune to fund pet causes or build monuments for himself. He had given everything to his children, and his empire became his cause and monument. Whatever the fine print said, if he wanted to change the family trust that he himself created — containing the shares of two companies that he himself built — wasn’t that his prerogative?
Adam Streisand, Rupert’s lawyer, walked him through the decision to amend the trust. Rupert was 93 years old and his voice was a little weak at times. However, he still had a clear, cogent voice. Rupert explained: “I felt certain, very sure that if these issues weren’t resolved, there would be trouble and the trouble would be detrimental.” He explained: “If the management is uncertain, the public and the employees will feel it.”
