A look at the Murdoch boys’ club: Who’s in and out

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2011 file photo, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch delivers a keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in San Francisco. Sibling rivalries. A quest for power. An affair. A scandal. The turbulent life of the 84-year-old billionaire and his heirs emerged back in the spotlight this week as the aging media magnate readied to hand over the keys to his empire. The media circus around the Murdochs shares many parallels with paparazzi coverage of the royals, including the family’s seats of power in the U.K. and in Commonwealth nation Australia, but the jostling for control in Murdoch’s family is different. The eldest child’s inheritance is never ensured. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File) FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2011 file photo, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch delivers a keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in San Francisco. Sibling rivalries. A quest for power. An affair. A scandal. The turbulent life of the 84-year-old billionaire and his heirs emerged back in the spotlight this week as the aging media magnate readied to hand over the keys to his empire. The media circus around the Murdochs shares many parallels with paparazzi coverage of the royals, including the family’s seats of power in the U.K. and in Commonwealth nation Australia, but the jostling for control in Murdoch’s family is different. The eldest child’s inheritance is never ensured. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

By Associated Press June 13, 2015 5 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Sibling rivalries. A quest for power. An affair. A scandal. The turbulent lives of 84-year-old billionaire Rupert Murdoch and his heirs returned to the spotlight this week as the aging magnate took steps to hand over control of the media empire he built nearly from scratch.

The Murdoch family – whose assets include The Wall Street Journal, Fox News and the 20th Century Fox movie studio – in some places garners the type of paparazzi coverage its global outlets have bestowed on royals.

But unlike with royals, in the Murdoch family, the eldest child’s inheritance is never ensured.

Once it was Lachlan, then it was James, and now both seem to be positioned to soon control the media behemoth that split into two separate entertainment and publishing companies two years ago: News Corp. and 21st Century Fox.

And in the wings operates spurned daughter Elisabeth, whose independent voice and fortune have made her one of London’s top socialites and a media power in her own right.