Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as the chair of Fox Corporation and the executive chair of News Corp., the network announced on Thursday.
The 92-year-old informed colleagues of his decision in a letter, saying that he will officially make the transition in November. His son, Lachlan, will become the sole chairman of both Fox Corporation and News Corp., according to the company.
“For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change,” Rupert Murdoch wrote, according to Fox News. “But the time is right for me to take on different roles, knowing that we have truly talented teams.”
Murdoch began his media career in newspapers in the 1950s and shortly after began to expand into television. He established News Corporation in 1980 and bought Twentieth Century Fox five years later. In 1986, he bought several television stations in the U.S. and launched the Fox Broadcasting Company.
The Fox News Channel debuted a decade later, in 1996.
In a statement shared by Fox News, Lachlan Murdoch congratulated his father “on his remarkable 70-year career.”
“We thank him for his vision, his pioneering spirit, his steadfast determination, and the enduring legacy he leaves to the companies he founded and countless people he has impacted,” he wrote.
It was not immediately clear what prompted Rupert Murdoch’s decision to step down on Thursday. He noted in his letter to staff that both he and his companies — which also include The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post — “are in robust health,” according to Fox News.
Ironically, his announcement comes days before the release of author and Rupert Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff’s book speculating on the future of Fox News after Rupert Murdoch is gone, “The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty,” The Associated Press reported.
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