James Murdoch is reportedly the top candidate to succeed Elon Musk as Tesla chairman - here's a look at his life and career
Born in 1972, Murdoch is the fourth of his media mogul father Rupert's sons, and "regarded as the smartest of the Murdoch brood."
Murdoch was born in London but grew up in New York. He graduated from the tony Horace Mann High School and then attended Harvard. Murdoch there edited underground magazines and wrote for the satirical Harvard Lampoon.
Source: BBC
Murdoch dropped out of Harvard to establish a hip-hop record label called Rawkus in 1995. It was bought by his father's News Corporation three years later.
Source: BBC
Murdoch, once back at the family company, took charge of a few different ventures at News Corp. — including its early internet operations and Asian television service.
Source: BBC
Murdoch's responsibilities at News Corp. broadened when he was appointed CEO of Sky UK (then called BSkyB) in 2003 — one of the UK's largest broadcasters. He was 30.
Source: The Guardian
Murdoch initially faced claims of nepotism for his appointment. However, he managed to expand Sky's successes and, unlike his father, mostly stayed away from political meddling.
Source: The Guardian
In 2007, Murdoch was put in charge of New Corp.'s European and Asian operations. That made him in charge of some of the region's most influential media sources, like The Times (UK) and The Sun (UK).
Source: The Guardian
He accrued a reputation of being a hard-working, introverted leader. He had an early morning gym routine and a black belt in karate.
Source: The Guardian
However, Murdoch faced serious controversy soon into his tenure. Reporters and editors at The News of the World, one of News Corp.'s biggest UK media holdings, allegedly hacked thousands of phones to find new stories over the course of nearly a decade. James and Rupert Murdoch both faced intense scrutiny and criticism in the aftermath.
Source: The Guardian
The massive scandal led to Murdoch's resignation as head of the British newspaper arm of News Corp. in 2012. He remained deputy chief operating officer for News Corp.
Source: CBC
News Corp. split in 2013 into two companies: 21st Century Fox, in charge of broadcast operations, and a "new" News Corp., to consist of publishing assets like HarperCollins. Following the split, Murdoch became CEO of 21st Century Fox.
Source: 21st Century Fox
Since 2017, Murdoch has also served on the board of Tesla. Those familiar with the executive said he signaled interest in the chairman job, according to the Financial Times.
Source: Financial Times
He spoke glowingly about his experience with Tesla's board. "It's been a really fascinating experience," Murdoch said in an interview at a recent Goldman Sachs conference. "What's exciting about the company and about Elon is the goals are so audacious. He's an entrepreneur who has some really audacious goals about what can be created and what can be settled for."
Source: Financial Times
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