Rupert Murdoch’s most senior and one of his last remaining lieutenants, Robert Thomson, who hails from a Victorian town with a population of 279, has been granted a five-year contract extension to 2030, cementing his status as one of Australia’s top paid executives.

Data published by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) last week revealed him to be the highest-paid Australian executive, with take-home pay of $41.9 million in the last financial year. News Corp is co-listed on the ASX and Nasdaq.

Thomson is chief executive of News Corp, the global media, technology and information company most famous for a raft of newspapers including The Australian, Herald Sun and Daily Telegraph in Australia, and The Sun, The Times and The Wall Street Journal overseas.

The move puts to bed some internal speculation that Almar Latour, the Dow Jones chief executive, which holds the company’s Wall Street Journal, was in line to succeed Thomson. Thomson has led News Corp since its inception in 2013, when the Murdoch family’s media assets were split in two, creating both Fox and News Corp. He has made more than $200 million in total remuneration since taking on the job over a decade ago, The Australian Financial Review has previously reported.

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Born in the Victorian town of Torrumbarry and educated at St Kilda’s Christian Brothers College, Thomson got his start at Melbourne’s The Herald, now known as the Herald Sun. He went on to hold senior journalism roles at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Financial Times. After he was passed over for the latter’s top editorial job in 2001, he was poached by Murdoch to edit his prestigious London broadsheet, The Times. He eventually went on to edit FT rival The Wall Street Journal.

Thomson and Rupert Murdoch developed a long-standing relationship despite the 30-year age gap (to the day). He is known to be one of the few executives willing to offer full and frank advice, or criticism, to the media mogul.

It is now Lachlan Murdoch who has extended Thomson’s time at News Corp, in one of his most significant moves since becoming sole chair 18 months ago.

The News Corp chair praised Thomson’s role in transforming the company over his 12-year tenure, saying his vision and leadership are vital as it navigates an era of rapid change.

“Robert has created exceptional shareholder value, orchestrated a meaningful transformation of our asset base, and made strategic investments in growth drivers like Dow Jones, Digital Real Estate Services, and book publishing,” while adding he has been a crucial voice in the fight for publishers and journalists in the digital age, and advocated for intellectual property rights.

It also locks in Thomson until the close of the decade while a secretive court battle for control of the News and Fox assets plays out in Nevada, with both Rupert and elder son Lachlan attempting to change the terms of a family trust.

The initial bid was rejected; however, an appeal is ongoing. Should they lose to Murdoch’s other three eldest children – James, Prudence and Elisabeth – then Rupert and Lachlan could also lose control of the company on the 94-year-old’s death.

Last year, News Corp and OpenAI signed a five-year deal allowing the latter to use and learn from the content the media company produces, compensating it by about $US250 million ($400 million).

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Under Thomson’s leadership, News Corp has shifted its revenue base to focus on recurring and digital revenues, as opposed to advertising, a press release from the company said, also re-segmenting Dow Jones in 2020, since doubling its profitability, and selling Foxtel to streaming firm DAZN earlier this year.

News Corp was approached for comment on this story.

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