Meet Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch’s Heir—Inside His $24 Billion Empire, $150 Million Mansion & Enduring Love Story With Sarah Murdoch

When

Rupert Murdoch finally stepped back from his throne, the media world didn’t just shift — it tilted. And at the heart of that tilt stood a tall, polished figure with a calm, unreadable smile: Lachlan Murdoch, the man who just inherited control of a $24 billion global empire. But beyond the headlines and the boardroom drama lies a quieter, more intriguing story — one of gilded mansions, old-school romance, and a marriage that has gracefully weathered the chaos of dynastic succession. Lachlan and his wife Sarah Murdoch, once a supermodel and TV darling, are not just another power couple. They’re the glossy, quietly private face of a family whose name has built — and sometimes broken — empires.

The Man Who Won “Succession” — For Real

The HBO series Succession may have fictionalised media royalty, but Lachlan Murdoch has lived the part for decades — minus the theatrical outbursts and champagne-fuelled boardroom brawls. In September 2025, he officially took charge of Fox Corporation and News Corp, the twin pillars of Rupert Murdoch’s empire, after years of sibling squabbles and courtroom whispers.

While his brothers and sisters took their $1.1 billion buyouts and stepped aside, Lachlan stayed steady — the quiet operator who never blinked. Now, he controls some of the world’s most powerful outlets: Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, The Sun, and The New York Post. Not bad for the boy once described as the “gentle Murdoch.”

Love at First Cruise

The Lachlan–Sarah story began not at a gala or a newsroom, but on a boat party in Sydney Harbour in the late 1990s. Sarah O’Hare was a young British-Australian model — luminous, grounded, and utterly uninterested in power games. Lachlan, then 27, was already navigating the high seas of his father’s empire.

The sparks flew. The following year, in 1999, they married in an intimate ceremony at the Murdoch family’s sprawling estate near Canberra, surrounded by a hundred guests and more roses than most florists see in a lifetime. Twenty-five years later, the couple remain fiercely private, raising their three children — Kalan, Aidan and Aerin — between Sydney, Los Angeles and New York. “Sarah brings balance to his world,” a family acquaintance once told an Australian magazine. “She’s his calm in the chaos. Lachlan may run Fox, but at home, Sarah runs the show.”

The $150 Million Mansion That Broke Records

When the Murdochs buy a house, they don’t just buy a house. They buy history. Case in point: Chartwell Estate — the legendary Bel Air property Lachlan purchased for a cool $150 million, making it the most expensive home ever sold in Los Angeles. The 10-acre estate looks straight out of a storybook — or rather, a rerun. Its iconic limestone façade starred in the opening credits of The Beverly Hillbillies. Built in the 1930s, it once belonged to Chicago hotelier Arnold Kirkeby, later to Univision magnate A. Jerrold Perenchio, and now to the Murdoch heir.

Inside are 11 bedrooms, 18 bathrooms, and a dining room that can seat 18 people under 18th-century French panelling. There’s a morning room imported from Paris (literally — the ceiling and walls were shipped over piece by piece), and a garden room lined with Japanese lacquer panels inlaid with mother-of-pearl. And beneath it all? Secret tunnels. Yes — actual tunnels that lead from the main house to the pool and gardens, once used by opera singers to rehearse because the acoustics were divine. If that sounds like a film set, that’s because it is. Except this one’s lived in.

The Couple That Quietly Outshines Hollywood

In a city obsessed with spectacle, Lachlan and Sarah are a study in understatement. While other media heirs pose on yachts or post from Cannes, the Murdochs prefer quiet dinners, art galleries, and family weekends in their Sydney harbourfront home — a sleek, minimalist mansion overlooking the Pacific. Sarah, who has modelled for Chanel, Valentino, Dior, and Ralph Lauren, still carries the poise of the runway but none of the pretence. She once hosted Australia’s Next Top Model and even made a cameo on Friends (yes, that Friends). But these days, she’s focused on philanthropy, education, and being a present mother. Lachlan, meanwhile, keeps a low public profile — except when steering one of the most politically charged media networks on Earth. His political leanings are conservative, but those who know him describe a pragmatic streak: he prefers strategy to spectacle. Together, they form a rare Hollywood hybrid — old money meets real love.

The Art of Quiet Power

The Murdochs’ wealth — estimated around $24.4 billion — stretches across continents and industries: television, print, publishing, sports, and now, streaming. But unlike his father’s flamboyant style, Lachlan’s version of power is almost meditative. He’s known to surf at dawn in Sydney before heading to a video call with Fox executives in New York. He reportedly prefers early nights, simple meals, and time with family over endless cocktail circuits. His calm exterior hides what insiders call “steel in silk” — a shrewd strategist with his father’s instincts and his mother’s restraint. When the trust restructuring was finalised, giving him sole control until 2050, he didn’t celebrate publicly. No press statements, no flashy interviews. Just a quiet acknowledgment that, finally, the crown had landed.

Sarah: The Real Star of the Murdoch Story

While Lachlan runs the empire, Sarah is often called the family’s anchor. She’s elegant but never aloof, and despite the couture labels in her wardrobe, she comes across as disarmingly warm. After her brother’s sudden death earlier this year, she withdrew from public events for months — a sign of how tightly she guards her private world. Her friends describe her as deeply involved in her children’s upbringing, balancing glamour with groundedness. “Sarah could walk into a boardroom or bake with the kids — she moves between worlds with ease,” says a long-time family friend. It’s easy to forget that she once walked runways for Issey Miyake and Chanel, or that she fronted campaigns for Estée Lauder. Today, her focus seems more inward — on family, art, and quiet philanthropy.

A Life of Billion-Dollar Balance

Between them, the Murdochs own properties worth over $300 million — from Bel Air to Bellevue Hill. Their portfolio spans London, Los Angeles, New York, and Sydney — though insiders say their favourite is still their home on Sydney’s harbourside, where life feels “a little bit normal.” Yet their empire is anything but. From Fox News’ global influence to The Wall Street Journal’s credibility, Lachlan’s every decision reverberates through the world. But beneath the headlines lies something rare for a dynasty this powerful — a marriage that, so far, seems remarkably unscathed by it all.

Legacy, Love, and a New Era

As Rupert Murdoch watches from semi-retirement, his eldest son steps into the light — not with the brashness of youth, but with the quiet poise of someone who’s been preparing for this moment all his life. And beside him, Sarah — the woman who met a media prince on a Sydney yacht and became the queen of one of the world’s most influential families — remains the heart of the story. For all the billion-dollar headlines, their life, it seems, is built not just on empire and inheritance, but on something far rarer in that world: equilibrium.