Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch Gets Annual Pay Bump Amid Family Drama

As a Nevada probate court deliberates the future of the Murdoch media empire, a new SEC filing shows that Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch took home about $2 million more in overall pay for his services in the most recent fiscal year.

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For the company’s fiscal 2024 ended in June, its proxy statement revealed, the CEO’s total compensation hit $23.8 million, up from $21.8 million in the prior year.

Rupert Murdoch, whose stint as chairman ended last year, collected nearly $21.2 million from Fox in fiscal ’24, down from $22.9 million in fiscal ’23.

Annual proxy statements detail the pay of a public company’s top five highest paid executives.

The numbers hit as the Murdoch family is fighting over succession of the sprawling media empire once the patriarch is no more. The crux of the issue is Rupert’s desire to change a so-called irrevocable trust that will split control of his business, Fox Corp. and News Corp., into four equal parts among his four oldest children. He wants to change that and give Lachlan Murdoch control. And there may be a loophole letting him if he can prove that a change is in the best interest of all stakeholders.

Murdoch’s fear is that Lachlan’s siblings, Elisabeth, James and Prudence, might join forces to oust him and possibly change the director of controversial but highly lucrative Fox News.

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In a 17-page order this month, and to the dismay of a wildly curious press, Probate Commissioner Edmund J. Gorman Jr. said proceedings this week in the Nevada venue would remain behind closed doors.

A shareholder of News Corp. is lobbying to force the company to abolish its dual-class share structure , which includes the super-voting stock that allows the Murdoch family to call all the shots. The investors, Starboard Value, is concerned about Murdoch the elder passing control into what may be a dysfunctional family situation and has submitted a proposal for a vote at the annual meeting,

Fox shareholders will vote on pay and other matters at the company’s annual meeting that’s been set for November 19 at 10 am PT.

Lachlan Murdoch’s compensation package consisted of a $3 million base salary; $3.5 million in stock awards; option awards valued at $2.75 million; $6 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation (like a cash bonus); $904k in deferred compensation; and $1.8 million in other comp.

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