Jealousy, in-fighting, public humiliation…the scandal that sparked a family feud and rocked the world’s most successful dynasty.
A dynasty in turmoil, a nation in uproar, a multi-billion dollar empire in peril. This is the kind of hot-off-the-presses drama the readers of Rupert Murdoch’s racier papers would devour with relish. It’s the story of a mighty media mogul, feared by rivals and feted by world leaders. A man who made no mistakes. Except one. She came in the shape of a smart, sassy redhead from the office typing pool.
Ferociously ambitious and equipped with a talent for schmoozing with anyone who could help her career, Rebekah Brooks made herself the apple of Rupert’s eye. She is at the heart of a firestorm engulfing his global business and the desperate power struggle that has broken out between his heirs. Last week, when 80-year-old Rupert gave evidence before a committee of British MPs, we saw a great figure – in his own words – “humbled and ashamed”. He was forced to admit that one of his London newspapers, the now closed News Of The World, had illegally hacked into phones, including those of Prince William and 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler.
Yet the real damage to Rupert’s legacy lies in the feud now raging in the clan that’s Australia’s home-grown royal family. Two of the billionaire’s sons – Lachlan, 39, and James, 38 – are battling to control the business, while waiting to pounce from the sidelines is their glamorous older sister Elisabeth, 42, who, according to London newspaper The Guardian, “is now emerging as the strongest family contender to take over at the helm of her father’s empire”.
All brilliant in their own ways, the three highest-profile Murdoch children have been torn apart by the scandal. They are reportedly fighting over money, power and tactics. But mostly they are arguing about who is to blame for the mess – and their main focus is the woman known as “Rupert’s Red Menace”. Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff, author of The Man Who Owns The News, says that Elisabeth accused her brother James and 43-year-old Rebekah of having “f***** the company”, a claim denied by Elisabeth.
Read more about the Murdoch family in this week’s Woman’s Day, on sale July 25, 2011.
