The bankers are trying to crunch me. They’ll fail.” Rupert Murdoch looked frazzled but defiant. We were having what was supposed to be a friendly coffee, but this was 2006 and he was under siege from bankers who were trying to cope with his financial over-reach.

Rupert, 93, is aiming to cut three of his children out of the family trust, which would allow his most conservative son to call the shots without interference