Fox News is owned by Fox Corporation, a publicly traded American mass media company. While the company sells shares to the public on the Nasdaq stock exchange under tickers FOXA and FOX, operational and strategic control rests firmly with the Murdoch family trust. Through a dual-class share structure, the family commands roughly 39% of the voting power, allowing them to dictate leadership and company direction despite holding a minority of the total economic stake.
Understanding who owns Fox News requires peeling back layers of corporate reorganization, public equity markets, and family trust mechanics. This breakdown examines the parent company, the mechanics of voting control, institutional shareholders, and how the network operates within the broader media ecosystem.
The Parent Company: Fox Corporation
Fox News does not trade as an independent entity. Instead, it operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Fox Corporation, which was formed in March 2019.
This corporate structure came into existence following a massive $71 billion transaction in which The Walt Disney Company acquired the bulk of 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets. The assets that Disney did not buy—primarily domestic news and sports broadcasting—were spun off into the standalone publicly traded entity known today as Fox Corporation.
Under the Fox Corporation umbrella, the portfolio splits into several key divisions:
- Fox News Media: Encompasses the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Nation, and FOX Weather.
- Fox Sports: Manages major national sports broadcasting rights, including NFL, college athletics, and soccer tournaments.
- Fox Television Stations: Owns and operates local broadcast television stations in major U.S. markets.
- Tubi Media Group: Operates the ad-supported free streaming service Tubi.
Within this family of brands, Fox News serves as the primary financial engine, generating an estimated 70% of the parent company's pre-tax profits.
Dual-Class Shares and Murdoch Family Control
Public ownership of Fox Corporation is divided into two distinct classes of stock, which forms the cornerstone of how the Murdoch family maintains ironclad control:
- Class A Common Stock (NASDAQ: FOXA): These shares carry limited or non-voting rights. They are held primarily by public retail investors, mutual funds, and large institutional asset managers.
- Class B Common Stock (NASDAQ: FOX): These shares carry full voting rights.
The Murdoch Family Trust holds the vast majority of Class B voting shares, accounting for approximately 39% of the total voting power. Because most public shareholders hold non-voting Class A shares, the family's voting block is more than large enough to pass any board resolution, elect directors, and steer corporate policy without interference from outside investors.
Founder Rupert Murdoch led the enterprise for decades before stepping down as chairman. His oldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, currently serves as the Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Corporation, preserving generational command over the network's editorial and business trajectory.
Major Institutional Stakeholders
While the Murdoch family controls the voting rights, institutional investors own more than 54% of the economic interest in Fox Corporation. These institutions hold shares on behalf of millions of everyday workers through mutual funds, pension funds, and index-tracking vehicles.
Major institutional holders include:
- The Vanguard Group: Holds roughly 10% of total outstanding shares, primarily distributed across passive index funds and exchange-traded funds.
- Dodge & Cox: A San Francisco-based active investment management firm holding a substantial multi-million share stake.
- BlackRock: The world's largest asset manager, holding shares across active and passive product lines.
- State Street Corporation: Another major index fund provider and institutional custodian managing broad equity positions.
Even though these asset management giants wield immense collective economic weight, their governance influence is heavily checked by the dual-class share structure. They participate in the financial upside of Fox Corporation, but they cannot outvote the Murdoch trust on strategic directives.
Separation from News Corp
A common point of confusion involves the relationship between Fox Corporation and News Corp. Though both entities trace their lineage back to Rupert Murdoch's original media empire, they are entirely separate publicly traded corporations.
- Fox Corporation houses domestic broadcast television, national sports, and cable news operations like Fox News and Fox Business.
- News Corp houses international publishing assets, newspapers, and book publishing interests. This includes outlets like The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and major Australian and British newspapers.
While the Murdoch family maintains controlling voting stakes in both companies, they operate under distinct management teams, separate balance sheets, and different ticker symbols on public markets. You can review official corporate filings through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to verify the legal separation of these entities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can everyday investors buy shares of Fox News?
You cannot buy stock in Fox News directly because it operates as a private subsidiary. However, you can buy shares of its parent company, Fox Corporation, which trades on the Nasdaq under the tickers FOXA (Class A non-voting) and FOX (Class B voting).
Does Disney own Fox News?
No. When The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019, regulatory conditions and corporate strategy explicitly excluded Fox News, Fox Sports, and the Fox broadcast network. Those assets were split off into Fox Corporation. Disney owns the former 20th Century Fox film and television studios, but has zero ownership stake in Fox News.
What is the dual-class share system?
A dual-class share system splits a company's stock into different categories with unequal voting rights. At Fox Corporation, Class A shares have little to no voting power, while Class B shares carry full voting power. This allows the Murdoch family to raise capital from public markets while keeping absolute control over corporate governance.
Who sits on the Fox Corporation Board of Directors?
The board oversees management across all Fox subsidiaries. Alongside CEO Lachlan Murdoch, the board includes independent directors and business leaders such as former U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and corporate executives from the legal and media sectors. Learn more about corporate board standards on the Association of Corporate Counsel portal.
