JCB billionaire boss shuns elder child and hands his empire to youngest son in real-life Succession battle

Published: 00:20, 17 May 2026 | Updated: 00:28, 17 May 2026 It's a real-life version of TV's Succession – billionaire boss shuns elder son and heir-in-waiting in favour of younger child. The decision by JCB chairman Lord Bamford to name his third child, George, as future head of the digger-maker ended rumours about internal boardroom tension. According to The Telegraph, eldest son Joseph, 48, had been trying to convince his 80-year-old father to relinquish the reins of the family-run company. Lord Bamford apparently saw this as an attempted coup and has now confirmed that 45-year-old George, currently deputy chairman, will take the top job. The Tory peer, a major donor to both the Conservatives and Reform, told the newspaper: 'In terms of us remaining a family business, that is very important, and we do have plans.' When asked to name his successor he replied: 'It will be George.' The transition from father to son has not yet been sanctioned at board level, although as the controlling shareholder, Lord Bamford's decision is unlikely to be overturned. This is despite Joseph seemingly being groomed for the job. After a brief stint in the City he began work with a JCB subsidiary in 2004 before working his way up the management ladder, becoming head of contracts. In 2006 he was the first of the three Bamford siblings to join the board. George and Alice, 50, a film producer based in California, followed three years later. George Bamford (right), pictured with model David Gandy, has been named as JCB's future boss George runs his own luxury watch company under the Bamford brand but has been increasingly involved in JCB. The firm was founded in 1945 by his grandfather, Joseph Cyril Bamford. It has grown to employ more than 19,000 people and has a sales turnover of £6.5 billion. The in-house wrangling at JCB has echoes of the Succession plot – said to be based on the family power struggle within Rupert Murdoch's media empire. The MoS has contacted JCB for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.