From Murdoch to Samsung: inside the world’s most prominent family successions

This past July, Samsung boss Lee Jae-yong was cleared by South Korea’s Supreme Court of fraud charges, ending a dramatic, decade-long legal battle over his role in a 2015 merger deal. 

Lee, the grandson of Samsung’s founder, and several members of the company were acquitted by the top court of all 19 charges, including stock price manipulation and auditing violations, related to the merger of two Samsung subsidiaries, Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries. Prosecutors alleged that the deal, estimated to be worth US$8 billion, would have helped Lee secure his succession.

At the time, the “Crown Prince of Samsung” was already the de facto leader of the world’s largest electronics company after his father, Lee Kun-hee, suffered a heart attack in 2014.

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In 2017, he was sentenced to five years in prison for bribing former South Korean President Park Geun-hye and one of her close confidants to gain government support for the merger.

Over the next five years, he would have his prison term shortened, be sentenced to prison a second time and granted a presidential pardon. After being pardoned, he was appointed as the executive chairman of Samsung Electronics—a position left vacant after his father passed away in 2020.

In 2024, a district court cleared Lee of all charges related to the merger. He was cleared again after prosecutors appealed the case in the High Court. 

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Spanish fashion giant Inditex, which owns brands like Zara, Massimo Dutti and Oysho, announced in late 2021 that it would have a new chairwoman: Marta Ortega Pérez, the youngest child of founder Amancio Ortega. 

According to the BBC, Inditex’s share price fell nearly 5 per cent after the announcement was made, as investors and analysts stated they were “nervous” about whether the new chair could fill her father’s big shoes. Since Ortega Pérez officially started as chairwoman in April 2022, Inditex shares have more than doubled in price.

Ortega Pérez had been with the company for 15 years by then, joining straight out of university. She started from the bottom, as an assistant at a Bershka store, before becoming part of Zara’s design and product development team for womenswear. More recently, she had been playing a key role in defining Zara’s brand and product strategy.

Today, she sits at the top position of her family’s retail behemoth, which has 5,563 stores in 214 markets and 162,000 employees. As it marks its 50th anniversary this year, the company boasts a market capitalisation of about US$170 billion—nearly 9 per cent of Spain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

Her father continues to hold nearly 60 per cent stake in the company, while her older half sister Sandra Ortega Mera holds just over 5 per cent. Ortega Pérez herself holds just 0.0014 per cent. 

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In May 2023, the Philippines’ LT Group named Lucio Tan III as its president. Tan was just 30 years old when he was identified to take over the reins of the public listed company started by his billionaire grandfather Lucio Tan. 

The family’s business empire has interests in aviation, banking, liquor, non-alcoholic drinks, tobacco and real estate. At the time of succession, the family’s business empire was estimated to be worth US$2 billion. 

Tan was also appointed president of PAL Holdings, the largest shareholder of the country’s national airline, Philippine Airlines, a position previously held by his father, Bong Tan, until his death from a brain herniation in 2019. 

In a regulatory filing published last month, LT Group reported a 17 per cent increase in its net income attributable for the first half of 2025 to P14.97 billion (US$260 million). Its overall revenue rose by 4.4 per cent to P63.81 billion (US$1.1 billion).

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In India, three siblings are being groomed to take over the company of Asia’s wealthiest person. Over the last few years, the children of Mukesh Ambani—twins Isha and Akash, and their younger brother Anant—have all been appointed to directorial roles in their family business, Reliance Industries. 

In 2022, firstborn Akash replaced his father as the chairman of telecommunications giant Reliance Jio Infocomm, India’s top wireless carrier. 

Isha heads Reliance Retail, the country’s largest retailer with businesses in fashion, grocery and consumer electronics. She also played a key role in launching Jio in 2016, and currently serves on its board in addition to that of her family’s philanthropic unit, Reliance Foundation. 

Anant, whose wedding last year made headlines worldwide for its extravagant ceremonies and star-studded guest list, is driving the conglomerate’s expansion into materials and sustainable energy. Under his watch, the company aims to become net zero by 2035. The youngest also manages Reliance’s 3,000-acre wildlife rescue centre, Vantara, which was recently investigated for illegally acquiring endangered species and financial misconduct.

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Reliance was founded by Mukesh’s father, Dhirubhai Ambani, in 1958 as a small venture firm trading commodities like spices and yarn. When the elder Ambani passed away in 2002, the absence of a will sparked a bitter feud between Mukesh and his brother Anil. 

The public dispute ended with the company being divided: Mukesh was put in charge of its oil, gas, petrochemicals, refining and manufacturing businesses, while Anil got its electricity, telecommunications and financial services units. 

Anil has since declared bankruptcy after several business failures, while Mukesh has led Reliance Industries to become one of the world’s largest conglomerates—though one of many mired in familiar-sounding controversies, including fraud, political corruption, stock manipulation and cronyism.

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The Philippines’ oldest conglomerate, Ayala Corporation, announced in March this year the promotion of four next-generation leaders—three of whom come from the family that started the company nearly 200 years ago. Mariana Beatriz Zobel de Ayala and Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala—both children of chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala—were appointed as managing director and executive director, respectively, alongside their cousin, Jaime Urquijo, who was also appointed as an executive director. 

Mariana heads Ayala Land’s leasing and hospitality businesses, overseeing its retail, office, hotel and resort units. 

Her younger brother, Jaime Alfonso, plays a leading role in governance while remaining as the CEO of AC Mobility, Ayala Corporation’s automotive unit that distributes brands such as BYD and Volkswagen. 

Urquijo, who is also Ayala Corporation’s chief sustainability and risk officer, will lead the internal transformation of the corporation, focusing on creating greater synergy between the holding company and the companies under it.

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The public listed company’s roots can be traced back to 1834, when entrepreneur Domingo Róxas and his employee, Antonio Ayala, entered a partnership to form Casa Róxas. They later established the Philippines’ first distillery, producing a variety of spirits, including the iconic Ginebra San Miguel gin.

The company formally became Ayala Corporation in 1968 and was listed on the Manila and Makati Stock Exchanges in 1976. It has diverse interests including real estate, banking, telecommunications, technology, healthcare and renewable energy—making it the largest conglomerate in the Philippines.

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