The Murdochs - There's Something About Wendi | 7

Wendi Deng’s entry into Rupert Murdoch’s life in 1997 triggered a seismic shift within the Murdoch media empire, fueling intense friction between the mogul and his adult children. This power struggle centered on the future of the Murdoch Family Trust, with Liz, Lachlan, and James maneuvering to protect their inheritance and influence against Wendi’s perceived ambitions. While Rupert sought to balance his new family life with his professional legacy, his children navigated shifting roles, resignations, and internal rivalries to secure their positions. The family’s fragile cohesion ultimately fractured under the weight of the News of the World phone hacking scandal, which exposed deep-seated ethical failures and threatened the existence of the global media conglomerate. This period of turmoil transformed the Murdoch dynasty from a unified business force into a fractured, high-stakes battleground for control and succession.