- Connected? Not by business, family or board seat. The one documented link is that both CEOs were part of Business Roundtable’s 2019 Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation.
- Lachlan Murdoch: Executive Chair and CEO of Fox Corporation, chair of News Corp. Born September 8, 1971 (age 55). Fox paid him about $31 million for fiscal 2026.
- David Cordani: CEO of Cigna from December 2009 to July 1, 2026, now Executive Chair. Born in 1966 (59 or 60). His 2025 pay was about $22.9 million.
- Net worth: The Murdoch family is valued at roughly $20 to $24 billion. Lachlan’s personal figure has no reliable number. Cordani’s estimates range from under $10 million to over $200 million.
Are Lachlan Murdoch and David Cordani connected?
No business, family or board link between them is documented. Murdoch runs Fox Corporation. Cordani ran The Cigna Group for almost 17 years and now chairs its board. I found no shared board seat, joint deal or family tie in SEC filings, company releases or news coverage.
There is one documented link. On August 19, 2019, Business Roundtable published its Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, signed by 181 CEOs, committing them to lead for the benefit of all stakeholders: customers, employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders. Murdoch signed as CEO of Fox. Cigna’s 2020 proxy statement says Cigna was among the companies backing the revision, and Cordani was a Business Roundtable member. [Link: Business Roundtable statement and signatory list]
Signing the same statement is not a partnership. It means two CEOs belonged to the same business lobby group at the same moment. Researchers have also argued the statement had little effect on corporate behavior, so it says little about any personal relationship.
That is an absence of evidence, not proof they have never met. Two executives at this level can cross paths at conferences or dinners. If a page claims they are partners, relatives or close friends, ask for the source.
Why the two names show up together
The overlap is thematic.
- Both lead very large US-listed companies: Fox (Fox News, Fox Sports, Fox broadcast network, Tubi) and Cigna (Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth, which includes Express Scripts).
- Both hold the title Executive Chair: Murdoch since the 2019 Fox spin-off, Cordani since July 1, 2026.
- Both made succession headlines: Murdoch locked in long-term control in September 2025, and Cordani handed the CEO job to Brian Evanko in July 2026.
- Both are paid at the very top of corporate America.
Who is Lachlan Murdoch?
Early life. Lachlan Keith Murdoch was born September 8, 1971, in London, the eldest son of Rupert Murdoch and Anna Maria Torv. Anna died on February 17, 2026, at 81. He grew up mostly in New York and graduated from Princeton. He is married to Sarah Murdoch, and they have three children. They moved to Sydney in 2021.
Career. He joined the family company in 1994 and rose through newspaper roles in Australia and New York. His investment in the telecom firm One.Tel collapsed in 2001, and in 2014 he settled a related dispute with the Packer family’s company, agreeing to pay A$40 million. In 2005 he left News Corp after a clash with Fox News boss Roger Ailes, then built an independent investment business in Australia (Illyria), which took stakes in media companies including NOVA Entertainment and Ten Network. He returned and became co-chair of 21st Century Fox in 2015. After Disney bought most of 21st Century Fox, the remainder became Fox Corporation in March 2019. He has been Executive Chair since then (CEO since 2018). He has chaired News Corp since his father stepped back in November 2023.
Fox in 2026. Fox’s fiscal year ends June 30. For fiscal 2026 it reported record revenue of $17.13 billion, net income of $1.73 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $3.91 billion, helped by the FIFA Men’s World Cup. Its strategy centers on live news and sports, plus streaming through Tubi (acquired in 2020) and the paid Fox One service (launched August 2025).
The Roku bet. On June 15, 2026, Fox agreed to buy Roku for about $22 billion in enterprise value: $96 in cash plus 0.9693 Fox Class A shares per Roku share. It is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, and reports say the Justice Department has widened its antitrust review. Fox shares fell sharply after the announcement. It is Murdoch’s biggest move since taking full control.
The 2025 trust deal. On September 8, 2025, the family announced a settlement ending the fight over control after Rupert’s death. Prudence, Elisabeth and James gave up their stake in the family trust in exchange for payouts of roughly $3.3 billion in total. The shares are now held through LGC Holdco, whose remaining beneficiaries are Lachlan and his half-sisters Grace and Chloe, according to Bloomberg. Lachlan holds control, and the arrangement runs until 2050. The family holds roughly 39% of Fox’s Class B voting shares while owning a much smaller share of total equity. Control and ownership are two different things.
Who is David Cordani?
Background. David M. Cordani was born in 1966. Cigna does not publish his exact birth date, and some sites give one without a source, so he is 59 or 60. He studied at Texas A&M and earned an MBA at the University of Hartford. He started in accounting before joining Cigna in 1991, and has also sat on the board of General Mills.
Climb to CEO. He moved through finance and operations roles, became President of Cigna HealthCare in 2005, President and COO of the parent company in 2008, and CEO in December 2009. He added the chairman title in 2022.
What changed under him. Cigna’s 2026 proxy statement describes a shift from a traditional insurer with 46 million customers and $18 billion in annual revenue to a global health company with more than 185 million customer relationships and about $275 billion in revenue. Key moves were the roughly $67 billion Express Scripts acquisition (closed December 2018), the build-out of Evernorth, and the sale of the Medicare business to HCSC (closed March 2025), which refocused Cigna on employer plans and pharmacy benefits.
That is Cigna’s own framing, and it deserves some skepticism. Pharmacy benefit managers have drawn heavy regulatory and political criticism over drug pricing, and health costs for American families rose steadily over the same years. Supporters point to the growth and to affordability programs. Critics point to the scrutiny.
The July 2026 handover. Cigna announced on March 3, 2026 that President and COO Brian Evanko would succeed Cordani on July 1. The handover happened on schedule. Cordani remains Executive Chair, and Evanko opened the July 30 second-quarter call as CEO, reporting $71.7 billion in quarterly revenue.
Career timeline side by side
| Lachlan Murdoch | David Cordani | |
|---|---|---|
| First job | Queensland Newspapers, family company (1994) | Accounting firm, then Cigna (1991) |
| Path | Family business, exit in 2005, return in 2010s | One company, promoted through the ranks |
| Top job | CEO of Fox from 2018; Executive Chair from 2019 | CEO of Cigna from December 2009 |
| Signature deals | Fox spin-off (2019), Tubi (2020), Roku (2026) | Express Scripts (2018), Medicare sale (2025) |
| Current role | Executive Chair and CEO, Fox; chair, News Corp | Executive Chair, Cigna |
Controversies and scrutiny
Murdoch. Fox paid $787.5 million in 2023 to settle Dominion’s defamation suit. Smartmatic’s separate suit, which seeks about $2.7 billion, has been reported as still pending. These are legal and reputational problems.
Cordani. His scrutiny is political and structural. Pharmacy benefit managers, including Express Scripts, have faced congressional and regulatory attention over drug pricing. Cigna has moved toward a rebate-free pharmacy model, which it calls Signature, and said it plans to exit the individual exchange business.
Leadership lessons
- Focus beats sprawl. Fox chose live news and sports. Cigna chose health services.
- Prune, then reinvest. Both sold or shed businesses that did not fit, then put money into growth areas.
- Succession looks different. Murdoch extended and consolidated personal control, with a contract through 2030. Cordani stepped back and handed over to an insider.
- Control and ownership are different things. Murdoch’s power comes from voting control through a trust. Cordani’s came from decades inside one company and a board that kept backing him.
How old are they?
- Lachlan Murdoch: born September 8, 1971, in London. He turned 55 on September 8, 2026.
- David Cordani: born in 1966, so 59 or 60. Treat any exact birth date as unconfirmed unless it cites Cigna or a primary source.
Net worth in 2026
Net worth for executives and dynasties is an estimate built from public share filings. These figures move with stock prices.
Lachlan Murdoch has three layers, and mixing them up is the most common mistake online.
- The Murdoch family. Forbes valued Rupert Murdoch and family at $24.4 billion in September 2025, up from $19.5 billion in 2024. Bloomberg’s index shows about $20.3 billion. Different methods, different dates.
- Lachlan’s personal fortune. No authoritative number exists. The Australian Financial Review rich list put him at about US$2.1 billion (A$3.35 billion) in an earlier year and near $3.2 billion in 2025, before the trust settlement. Net-worth sites range from $1.2 billion to “over $12 billion,” which tells you they are guessing. Most credible estimates sit in the low billions.
- Disclosed stock. GuruFocus’s reading of SEC filings shows about 1.4 million Fox shares worth roughly $78 million as of mid-October 2026, plus a sale of about 150,000 shares in mid-September worth around $10 million. That is only a slice of the picture, because the family’s holdings sit in a trust structure he controls rather than in his own name.
If a page gives one confident number for Lachlan’s personal wealth and cannot say how it was calculated, skip it. Some such pages also get basic facts wrong, claiming he studied at Harvard or Michigan or sits on Tesla’s board. He is a Princeton graduate and is not on Tesla’s board.
David Cordani: why every site gives a different number.
- GuruFocus: at least $207 million, based on about 617,700 shares in April 2025.
- MarketScreener: $172 million in March 2026 and $181 million at the end of August 2026, based on roughly 646,000 to 656,000 shares.
- Quiver Quantitative: about $215.6 million, but only about $57 million is stock it believes he still holds (around 207,700 shares). The rest appears to be past stock sales of roughly $158.7 million since 2021, added back in.
- Frenzy Capital: about $92 million, based on roughly 307,000 shares.
- InsiderTrades: about $9.7 million, based on about 34,000 shares.
The spread comes from what gets counted: direct versus indirect holdings, vested versus unvested awards, options, and whether past sales are included. Cordani also sold stock in May 2026, which shifts any estimate built on older share counts.
Editorial estimate: my own judgment is that a stock-based range of roughly $60 million to $180 million is easier to defend than any single figure. It is not a reported number, and it excludes cash, property and private holdings.
What to trust:
- Most reliable: pay figures from proxy statements.
- Reasonable but approximate: Forbes and Bloomberg estimates for the Murdoch family.
- Use with care: share-count calculators for individual executives.
- Ignore: pages with no method, and anything that mixes family trust wealth with one person’s net worth.
Salary and compensation
Lachlan Murdoch at Fox (fiscal year ends June 30).
- Fiscal 2023: about $21.8 million
- Fiscal 2024: about $23.8 million
- Fiscal 2025: about $33 million
- Fiscal 2026: about $31.02 million
The fiscal 2026 package included a $3 million salary, $8.68 million in stock awards, $2.75 million in option awards, $11.4 million in non-equity incentive pay, $3.07 million from changes in pension value and $2.12 million in other compensation, including about $1.9 million for residential security and roughly $170,000 for personal aircraft use. In June 2026 he extended his contract through 2030. His target annual bonus rose to $9 million and his target annual equity award to $20 million, with the $3 million salary unchanged. [Link: Fox 2026 proxy statement]
David Cordani at Cigna (calendar year). Per the SEC summary compensation table: about $21.0 million in 2022, $21.0 million in 2023, $23.3 million in 2024 and $22.9 million in 2025, mostly stock, with a salary of about $1.6 million in 2025. Since July 1, 2026, as Executive Chair, his base salary is $1 million with a $2 million bonus target. Evanko has a $1.3 million salary, a $2.6 million bonus target and a $15.1 million long-term incentive target, plus a one-time $3.5 million transitional equity award. Cordani’s full 2026 pay will not be public until Cigna’s next proxy. [Link: Cigna 2026 proxy statement]
How to compare their pay fairly:
- Different years. Fox’s fiscal 2025 is not the same twelve months as Cigna’s 2025.
- “Total” is not take-home. The table counts the grant-date value of stock and options.
- Size does not set pay. Cigna’s revenue is roughly 16 times Fox’s, yet Murdoch’s reported pay is higher. Equity awards, targets, ownership structure and board decisions matter more.
- Realized pay can differ sharply. A STAT analysis put Cordani’s realized 2021 compensation above $91 million, far above the summary-table figure for that year.
Philanthropy
Cordani has supported Achilles International, serving as a running guide for wounded veterans, and he and his wife Sherry established a veterans’ scholarship at Texas A&M. In June 2026, the Cigna Group Foundation announced a $1.5 million, 10-year grant in his name focused on military and veteran communities. Murdoch and his wife Sarah have supported the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Side by side
| Lachlan Murdoch | David Cordani | |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Fox Corporation; chairs News Corp | The Cigna Group |
| Industry | Media, news, sports, streaming | Health services, insurance, pharmacy |
| Title | Executive Chair and CEO | Executive Chair (CEO 2009 to July 1, 2026) |
| Born | Sept 8, 1971, London (55) | 1966 (59 or 60) |
| Education | Princeton | Texas A&M; MBA, University of Hartford |
| Latest annual pay | About $31.0 million (fiscal 2026) | About $22.9 million (2025) |
| Company revenue | $17.13 billion (fiscal 2026) | About $275 billion (2025) |
| Wealth | Family about $20 to $24 billion; no reliable personal figure | Estimates vary widely; editorial stock-based range $60 to $180 million |
Frequently asked questions
Are Lachlan Murdoch and David Cordani related or business partners?
No. They lead unrelated companies, and no filing or news report shows a shared board, deal or family link. Both CEOs took part in Business Roundtable’s 2019 corporate purpose statement, but that is not a partnership.
Who is richer?
Almost certainly Murdoch. The family he controls is valued at tens of billions of dollars, and credible estimates of his personal wealth are in the low billions, against roughly $60 to $180 million in stock-based wealth for Cordani on my estimate. The comparison is imperfect because Murdoch’s wealth sits partly in a trust structure.
How much does Lachlan Murdoch make?
About $31.02 million for fiscal 2026, down from about $33 million the year before. His salary is $3 million.
How much did David Cordani make?
About $22.9 million in 2025, with a salary of roughly $1.6 million. As Executive Chair his base salary is now $1 million.
Is David Cordani still CEO of Cigna?
No. Brian Evanko became CEO on July 1, 2026. Cordani is Executive Chair.
How old is Lachlan Murdoch?
55. He was born on September 8, 1971.
Who controls Fox Corporation?
Lachlan Murdoch, through a family trust arrangement set up in the September 2025 settlement and scheduled to run until 2050.
What is the Fox and Roku deal?
Fox agreed in June 2026 to acquire Roku for about $22 billion in cash and stock. It is expected to close in the first half of 2027 and still needs shareholder and regulatory approval.
Bottom line
Murdoch and Cordani share one documented link, a 2019 Business Roundtable statement, and no verifiable business, family or board tie. Their careers ran in parallel through 2025 and 2026, with big companies, big paychecks and a handoff of power each. Trust the pay figures, treat net worth as a range, and be suspicious of any site that offers one exact number.
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Shahzad is the founder and lead writer at WorthRada. He writes about celebrity net worth, biographies, careers, income, and success stories, with a focus on providing clear, well-researched, and reliable information.
