Murdochulated

 Saw this interesting piece in the Atlantic. (I’ll put the link below.) Basically, it is a sort of interview with James Murdoch, younger son of Rupert (he of Fox News). In it, James describes the brutal infighting going on in the Murdoch clan for control of the family’s media empire once Rupert passes on.

James comes across as a surprisingly likeable figure. Though, what is fascinating is his description of life in the Murdoch family. It sounds, frankly, awful, with the Patriarch pitting the siblings against one another, and then sabotaging James in favor of his first born, Lachlan Murdoch. 

It all sounds a bit like what little we know of life in Donald Trump’s own childhood, which similarly seems to have been a battle royal, to say the least.

Which makes one wonder, how is it possible for this to be such a common story among our elite? Or, to put it another way, why are we being ruled by such monstrous people?

The Atlantic piece is here: Coppins, McKay. "Rupert Murdoch’s Final Chapter." The Atlantic, Apr. 2025, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/04/rupert-murdoch-family-succession-james-murdoch/681675/.

It is behind a soft paywall, but you get pretty much the whole story in this similar piece in The Guardian: Williams, Zoe. "James Murdoch Is Poised to Take Over the Family Business. But Will He Ditch the Right-Wing Politics?" The Guardian, 19 Feb. 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/19/james-rupert-murdoch-family-succession-rightwing-politics.