President Donald Trump recently alluded to the involvement of Fox Corp. Chairman Lachlan Murdoch and his father, Rupert Murdoch, in the US takeover of the popular video app TikTok from its Chinese owners. During an interview taped Friday on Fox News’s The Sunday Briefing, Trump was directly questioned about the individuals investing in TikTok, prompting his revelation about the Murdochs.

Hours after Trump's interview, on Saturday, the White House officially announced the finalization of the deal, which mandates that TikTok's US operations will be majority-owned and controlled by American investors. Confirmed participants include Oracle Corp., Andreessen Horowitz, and private equity firm Silver Lake Management LLC. The arrangement, solidified during a Friday phone call between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, is expected to be formally signed in the coming days.

Trump explicitly stated, "I hate to tell you this, but a man named Lachlan is involved. Lachlan is, that’s a very unusual name, Lachlan Murdoch. And Rupert is probably going to be in the group. I think they’re going to be in the group." He also named Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle, and Michael Dell, chairman of Dell Inc., as potential participants. Notably, neither the Murdochs, who oversee News Corp., nor Michael Dell were mentioned in the White House's subsequent announcement, which was released a day after Trump's interview. Requests for comment to Fox Corp. and Dell regarding their potential involvement went unanswered.

The TikTok deal is a direct response to a bipartisan law enacted in January 2025, which mandated parent company ByteDance Ltd. to divest its stake in TikTok's US operations. Under the terms of this agreement, ByteDance will retain a minority stake of less than 20%. The structural details of the deal ensure American control, with US investors holding six of the seven board seats for TikTok. Furthermore, the app's algorithm will be controlled within the United States, and Oracle will assume the critical role of TikTok’s security provider, tasked with monitoring the app for safety in collaboration with the US government.