Sumner Redstone
Encyclopedia
Sumner Murray Redstone is an American media magnate
. He is the majority owner and Chairman of the Board of the National Amusements
theater chain. Through National Amusements, Sumner Redstone and his family are majority owners of CBS Corporation
, Viacom
, MTV Networks
, BET
, and the film studio Paramount Pictures
, and are equal partners in MovieTickets.com
.
Ostrovsky) and Michael Rothstein
. His family's name was changed from the Jewish surname
Rothstein to Redstone when Sumner was 17. His father was the owner of the Northeast Theater Corporation in Dedham, Massachusetts
– the forerunner of National Amusements
. He also owned the Boston branch of the Latin Quarter Nightclub
.
Redstone attended the Boston Latin School
, where he graduated first in his class. He then attended Harvard College
, where he completed his B.A. in three years. Later, Redstone served in World War II
, with a team that decoded Japan
ese messages for the United States Army
. Upon completion of his Army service, he worked in Washington, D.C.
and attended Georgetown University Law School. He transferred to Harvard Law School
and received his LL.B., later amended to a Juris Doctor
, from that institution.
After completing law school, Redstone worked for the United States Department of Justice Tax Division
in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, and then went into private practice. After a few years in practice, he joined his father's theater chain.
As National Amusements
grew, Redstone believed that content would become more important than distribution mechanisms. There would always exist channels of distribution (albeit in varied forms), but content was always going to be necessary (he coined the phrase "content is king!"). He then made investment
s in Columbia Pictures
, Twentieth Century Fox
, Orion Pictures, and Paramount Pictures
(the latter of the four of which Redstone's Viacom would buy in the 1990s-see below), all of which turned over huge profits when he chose to sell the stock
in the early 1980s.
In 1979, he suffered severe burns in a fire at the Copley Plaza hotel, in Boston, but survived after extensive surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital
.
, a company which he had already been buying stock in as an investment and was a spin-off of CBS
in 1971 after the FCC
ruled that television network
s could not syndicate
programs they produced. Viacom syndicated most of CBS's programs, but also made a lot of money from syndicating other programs, including most of Carsey-Werner Productions
' shows (The Cosby Show
, Roseanne
, and A Different World), as well as syndicating shows for other companies (Columbia Pictures Television
's All in the Family
was one notable example), and cable channels (Nickelodeon
's Double Dare and Finders Keepers (co-syndicated with 20th Television
) were two examples).
Viacom also owned MTV Networks
(formerly known as Warner-AMEX Satellite Entertainment), which owned MTV
and Nickelodeon
. In addition, other included properties included Showtime Networks (a similar pay-television network to HBO and Cinemax
) and The Movie Channel
. Viacom acquired MTV Networks in 1985 for $550 million from Steve Ross' Warner Communications
. (WCI bought American Express' share and then sold the entire entity to Viacom, as they felt that they could not make a lot of money from the venture and the bias of a studio owning cable channels would be a conflict of interest. The studio's stance changed in 1995, when as Time Warner
it bought Turner Broadcasting.)
After a hostile takeover in 1987, Redstone won voting control of Viacom and led a series of acquisitions to make Viacom one of the top players in modern media (along with Bertelsmann
, General Electric
& Vivendi
's NBC Universal
, News Corporation
, Time Warner
, Sony
, and Disney
).
), parent of Paramount Pictures
, in 1993, which he fought over with Barry Diller
(former board member of Vivendi Universal and CEO of IAC/InterActiveCorp
) and John Malone (president of TCI
/Liberty Media
), where he had to raise his bid three times. Some say that Redstone overpaid, but after he shed certain assets (the Madison Square Garden
properties (which included the NBA's NY Knicks and the NHL's NY Rangers)to Charles Dolan
's Cablevision and Simon & Schuster
's educational publishing units to Pearson plc
for almost $4 billion), Redstone turned Viacom's expenditure into a substantial profit. Under Redstone's leadership, Paramount went on an almost ten-year streak of record performance, producing such films as Saving Private Ryan
, Titanic
(one of the highest grossing film of all time and Best Picture Academy Award winner), Braveheart
(Best Picture Academy Award), and Forrest Gump
(also a Best Picture winner) and the creation of the hugely successful Mission: Impossible series of pictures.
Redstone replaced the team of Jonathan Dolgen and Sherry Lansing
in 2004 after their nine-year winning streak ended. Along with the strong slate of films they oversaw, Dolgen and Lansing’s accomplishments included: doubling the size of Paramount's music publishing division, Famous Music; expanding UCI Cinemas into 13 foreign countries; creating the Digital Cinema Initiatives standards body for the new digital film technology; introducing the DVD; and launching the UPN Network (later part of CBS and now called the CW). The current Paramount Pictures consists only of the movie studio, the other groups having been sold or parceled out to other divisions.
Since arriving at Paramount in 2005, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brad Grey has led a return to fortune at the box office. He has overseen the creation or revitalization of several major franchises, including "Transformers," "Star Trek" and "Paranormal Activity." Paramount has also forged productive relationships with top-tier filmmakers and talent including J.J. Abrams, Michael Bay and Martin Scorsese). The 2010 Paramount slate achieved much success with Shutter Island and a True Grit
remake, reaching the biggest box office totals in the storied careers of Martin Scorsese and the Coen Brothers, respectively. In addition, during Grey’s tenure, Paramount launched its own worldwide releasing arm, Paramount Pictures International, and has released acclaimed films such as An Inconvenient Truth
, Up in the Air
, and There Will Be Blood
.
The Paramount acquisition was only the tip of the iceberg. He purchased Blockbuster Entertainment, which included Aaron Spelling
's production company and a huge library of films, much of which has been merged into Paramount Pictures. Blockbuster has now been spun off into its own independent entity. Redstone acquired CBS Corporation in 2000 and then spun it off as a separate company in 2005, taking with it all of Paramount's television shows and catalog. Following the CBS and Blockbuster Spinoffs, Viacom consists of MTV Networks (MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, Noggin etc.), music publishing (Famous Music) and Paramount Pictures.
In December 2005, Redstone announced that Paramount had agreed to buy DreamWorks SKG for an estimated $1.6 billion. The acquisition was completed on February 1, 2006. A subsequent financing brought Viacom's investment down to $700 million. The animation studio, DreamWorks Animation
, was not included in the deal as it has been its own company since late 2004. However, Paramount now has the rights to distribute films by DreamWorks Animation.
(who was then the President of CBS) proposed a merger to Redstone on favorable terms and after the merger completed in 2000, Viacom had some of the most diversified businesses imaginable. Viacom had assets in the form of broadcast networks (CBS and UPN
), cable television
networks (MTV
, VH1
, Nickelodeon, MTV2
, Comedy Central
, BET
, Nick at Nite
, Noggin/The N, TV Land
, CMT
, and Spike TV
), pay television (Showtime and The Movie Channel
), radio
(Infinity Broadcasting, which produced the immensely popular Howard Stern
' radio show
s), outdoor advertising, motion pictures (Paramount Pictures
), and television production (Spelling Entertainment, Paramount Television
, and Big Ticket Entertainment
), and King World Productions
(a syndication unit, which notably syndicates the runaway daytime hit, The Oprah Winfrey Show
, as well as Dr. Phil
, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy!
), among others.
After CBS and Viacom split in late 2005, Redstone remained chairman of both companies.
(Vice-Chairwoman of the Board of Viacom and CBS as well as President of National Amusements), is set to assume his role upon his death. However, a November 22, 2006, New York Times article indicated that Redstone was reconsidering his daughter's role. Recently they have been feuding publicly over issues of corporate governance and the future of the cinema chain. There have also been numerous articles stating that Sumner's marriage is in trouble.
Documents have recently been made public which verify that, as part of a settlement from Sumner's first divorce, all of Sumner's stock is in irrevocable trusts
that will be left for his grandchildren. On March 1, 2010, Sumner publicly announced that all of his stock will be left for his grandchildren.
Redstone made arrangements to step down as CEO of Viacom in 2006. After Mel Karmazin resigned in 2004, two heirs apparent were named: Co-President & Co-COO Leslie Moonves
(who was #2 to Karmazin at CBS; he was the former head of Warner Bros. Television
and before that, Lorimar Television) and Co-President & Co-COO Tom Freston
(who had been President & CEO of MTV Networks since 1987 and had been with the company since the formation of MTV Networks' precursor company, Warner-AMEX Satellite Entertainment). Since the Viacom split, Moonves has headed CBS, and Freston had headed the new Viacom, Inc.
When Moonves was promoted to Co-President & Co-COO with Tom Freston, there was speculation that he was on the short list of executives to replace Michael Eisner
at the Walt Disney Company whose contract expired in 2006. Redstone has confirmed publicly in Vanity Fair
that he originally offered the position only to Freston who initially turned it down and later relented when Redstone made it clear he was going to ask Moonves next.
On September 5, 2006, Redstone removed Tom Freston
as President and CEO of Viacom
and replaced him with director and former Viacom counsel Philippe Dauman
. He also brought back former CFO Tom Dooley. This was surprising to many, as Freston had been seen by many as Redstone's heir apparent and that Redstone touted that Freston would run the company after he retired. Redstone publicly stated that he let Freston go because of Viacom's lack of aggressiveness in the digital/online arena, lack of contact with investors, and a lackluster upfront (coupled with falling viewership) at MTV Networks
.
The company split was approved by the Viacom board on June 14, 2005.
, which is his privately held, family-owned company. CBS Corporation, likewise, is controlled by Redstone through National Amusements. Redstone sold his holdings of Midway Games
, of over eighty-nine percent, in December 2008.
and Brent Redstone
. Three years after his divorce, he married Paula Fortunato, a former primary school teacher who is 39 years his junior. Sumner Redstone filed for divorce from Paula on Friday, October 17, 2008. Their divorce was finalized on January 22, 2009.
Redstone owns a house in the Beverly Park
area of Beverly Hills, California
, which he purchased in 2002 for $14,500,000.
In July 2010, Redstone was caught on tape, trying to find the source of an apparently embarrassing leak within his own MTV. Redstone offered money and protection to a journalist if he would give up his source. Apparently Mr. Redstone had been pushing MTV management to give more airtime to a girl band called the Electric Barbarellas
. 'On the message, Redstone tells the reporter that "we're not going to kill" the source, adding: "We just want to talk to him." The 87-year-old Redstone also tells the reporter he will be "well rewarded and well protected" if he gives up the source. Lauria told NBC's "Today" show Wednesday he wouldn't do it. Viacom Inc. spokesman Carl Folta confirmed to "Today" that it was Redstone's voice on the message and said the mogul had made a mistake. A Viacom source tells the Post today, "Sumner wants to be consequential. Sumner is really proud of what he did. This guy is loving it ... He likes people to know he's still alive."
), was published in 2001 by Viacom's Simon & Schuster
. This book details everything from Redstone's life as a young boy in Boston to the difficult takeover of Viacom and the problems he overcame in purchasing and managing both Blockbuster Video and Paramount Pictures. The book also recounts the legendary CBS merger (Viacom was a spin-off company of CBS to syndicate its programs, and the subsidiary bought the parent almost 30 years later).
Viacom's broadcasting properties at the time of A Passion To Wins release included several radio stations and two TV stations: WBZ CBS 4
, which had just become a CBS O&O through a merger with Westinghouse four years before Viacom and CBS merged, and WSBK UPN 38
in Redstone's hometown, Boston.
's list of the hundred richest people in the world, with an estimated worth of US$ 9 billion
. The declining stock market of late 2008 impacted his wealth. Recently, with the partial recovery of the stock market, Sumner Redstone's net worth is again on the rise. In March 2011, Forbes estimated Sumner's net worth to be 3.8 billion dollars.
supporter, and having a history of donating to many Democratic campaigns, including regular donations to the late Ted Kennedy
, John Kerry
, and former Senate Majority Leader
Tom Daschle
, he endorsed Republican
George W. Bush
over Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election
, allegedly because he argued that Bush would be better for his company and the economy. Despite this public endorsement, he donated money to John F Kerry during the primaries.
in Boston
, Massachusetts
.
Sumner is a philanthropist. He recently contributed $500,000 (the largest donation the charity could accept) to the Cambodian Children's Fund, a nonprofit program that provides a wide range of critical health and educational services to impoverished and abused children in the capital city of Phnom Penh
. Redstone's contribution will be used to create the Sumner M. Redstone Child Rescue Center, a stand-alone facility scheduled to open during the fall of 2007 for children 5 to 16.
In early 2010, Autism Speaks announced that Sumner Redstone made a $1 million donation to be applied to scientific research into autism's causes, improved treatments, and, ultimately, its cures. Part of the gift will support Autism Speaks' programs for children, adults and families. While Redstone has supported Autism Speaks since 2007, this is his largest gift to date.
In July 2010, Redstone donated $24 million to the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
to support cancer research.
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
. He is the majority owner and Chairman of the Board of the National Amusements
National Amusements
National Amusements, Inc. is a privately owned theatre company based in Dedham, Massachusetts, USA. The company was founded in 1936 as the Northeast Theatre Corporation by Michael Redstone....
theater chain. Through National Amusements, Sumner Redstone and his family are majority owners of CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
, Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
, MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
, BET
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
, and the film studio Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, and are equal partners in MovieTickets.com
MovieTickets.com
MovieTickets.com is an online movie ticketing website originally founded by AMC Theaters and Hollywood.com and formed in the year 2000. It is currently a joint venture between AMC Entertainment, Hollywood Media Corp, National Amusements, Cineplex Entertainment, Marcus Theatres, Viacom and Time Warner...
.
Early life and career
Sumner was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Belle (néeMarried and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Ostrovsky) and Michael Rothstein
Michael Redstone
Michael Redstone, born Michael Rothstein, was the founder of the Northeast Theater Corporation which has become National Amusements, Inc., which owns CBS Corporation, Viacom, music networks MTV Networks, and BET, with movie production and distribution Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks movie...
. His family's name was changed from the Jewish surname
Jewish surname
Jews have historically used Hebrew patronymic names. In the Jewish patronymic system the first name is followed by either ben- or bat- , and then the father's name....
Rothstein to Redstone when Sumner was 17. His father was the owner of the Northeast Theater Corporation in Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood and on the southeast by...
– the forerunner of National Amusements
National Amusements
National Amusements, Inc. is a privately owned theatre company based in Dedham, Massachusetts, USA. The company was founded in 1936 as the Northeast Theatre Corporation by Michael Redstone....
. He also owned the Boston branch of the Latin Quarter Nightclub
Latin Quarter (nightclub)
Latin Quarter is a nightclub in New York City.The Club which originally opened in 1942 featured big name acts. In recent years it has been a focus of hip hop, reggaeton, and salsa music....
.
Redstone attended the Boston Latin School
Boston Latin School
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
, where he graduated first in his class. He then attended Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, where he completed his B.A. in three years. Later, Redstone served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, with a team that decoded Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese messages for the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. Upon completion of his Army service, he worked in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and attended Georgetown University Law School. He transferred to Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
and received his LL.B., later amended to a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
, from that institution.
After completing law school, Redstone worked for the United States Department of Justice Tax Division
United States Department of Justice Tax Division
The United States Department of Justice Tax Division is responsible for the prosecution of both civil and criminal cases arising under the Internal Revenue Code and other tax laws of the United States...
in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, and then went into private practice. After a few years in practice, he joined his father's theater chain.
As National Amusements
National Amusements
National Amusements, Inc. is a privately owned theatre company based in Dedham, Massachusetts, USA. The company was founded in 1936 as the Northeast Theatre Corporation by Michael Redstone....
grew, Redstone believed that content would become more important than distribution mechanisms. There would always exist channels of distribution (albeit in varied forms), but content was always going to be necessary (he coined the phrase "content is king!"). He then made investment
Investment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
s in Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, Twentieth Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, Orion Pictures, and Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
(the latter of the four of which Redstone's Viacom would buy in the 1990s-see below), all of which turned over huge profits when he chose to sell the stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
in the early 1980s.
In 1979, he suffered severe burns in a fire at the Copley Plaza hotel, in Boston, but survived after extensive surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
.
Viacom
Looking for a new business venture, he set his sights on Viacom InternationalViacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
, a company which he had already been buying stock in as an investment and was a spin-off of CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in 1971 after the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
ruled that television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
s could not syndicate
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programs they produced. Viacom syndicated most of CBS's programs, but also made a lot of money from syndicating other programs, including most of Carsey-Werner Productions
Carsey-Werner Productions
Carsey-Werner Productions is an independent production company founded in 1981 by former ABC writer/producer duo Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner...
' shows (The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
, Roseanne
Roseanne (TV series)
Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988 to May 20, 1997. Starring Roseanne Barr, the show revolved around the Conners, an Illinois working class family...
, and A Different World), as well as syndicating shows for other companies (Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems . The studio changed its name on September 4, 1974.-1974-1982:...
's All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
was one notable example), and cable channels (Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
's Double Dare and Finders Keepers (co-syndicated with 20th Television
20th Television
20th Television is an American television production and syndication company that was formed in 1992 by 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, a division of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation....
) were two examples).
Viacom also owned MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
(formerly known as Warner-AMEX Satellite Entertainment), which owned MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
. In addition, other included properties included Showtime Networks (a similar pay-television network to HBO and Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
) and The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel is an American premium channel owned by Showtime Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, which shows mostly movies, as well as special behind-the-scenes features, softcore adult erotica and movie trivia....
. Viacom acquired MTV Networks in 1985 for $550 million from Steve Ross' Warner Communications
Warner Communications
Warner Communications or Warner Communications, Inc. was established in 1971 when Kinney National Company spun off its non-entertainment assets, due to a financial scandal over its parking operations and changed its name....
. (WCI bought American Express' share and then sold the entire entity to Viacom, as they felt that they could not make a lot of money from the venture and the bias of a studio owning cable channels would be a conflict of interest. The studio's stance changed in 1995, when as Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
it bought Turner Broadcasting.)
After a hostile takeover in 1987, Redstone won voting control of Viacom and led a series of acquisitions to make Viacom one of the top players in modern media (along with Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann AG is a multinational media corporation founded in 1835, based in Gütersloh, Germany. The company operates in 63 countries and employs 102,983 workers , which makes it the most international media corporation in the world. In 2008 the company reported a €16.118 billion consolidated...
, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
& Vivendi
Vivendi
Vivendi SA is a French international media conglomerate with activities in music, television and film, publishing, telecommunications, the Internet, and video games. It is headquartered in Paris.- History :...
's NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
, News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
, Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, and Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
).
Paramount Pictures
Redstone's next acquisition came in the form of the purchase of Paramount Communications (previously Gulf+WesternGulf+Western
Gulf and Western Industries, Inc., for a number of years known as Gulf+Western, was an American conglomerate.- History :Gulf and Western's prosaic origins date to a manufacturer named Michigan Bumper Co. founded in 1934, though Charles Bluhdorn treated his 1958 takeover of what was then Michigan...
), parent of Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, in 1993, which he fought over with Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
(former board member of Vivendi Universal and CEO of IAC/InterActiveCorp
IAC/InterActiveCorp
InterActiveCorp is an American internet company with over 50 brands across 40 countries headquartered in New York City...
) and John Malone (president of TCI
TCI
-Medicine:*Transient Cerebral Ischaemic attack, see Transient ischemic attack*Tricyclic antidepressant medication*Target Controlled Infusion, a method for controlling intravenous infusions.-Psychology:*Theme-Centered Interaction, a method of psychotherapy by Dr...
/Liberty Media
Liberty Media
Liberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate and the control is exercised by company Chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares....
), where he had to raise his bid three times. Some say that Redstone overpaid, but after he shed certain assets (the Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
properties (which included the NBA's NY Knicks and the NHL's NY Rangers)to Charles Dolan
Charles Dolan
Charles F. Dolan is an American billionaire and founder of Cablevision and HBO.-Biography:A John Carroll University drop out, Dolan is married and has six children, including Cablevision Systems Corporation and Madison Square Garden, Inc. chairman James L. Dolan.The Charles F...
's Cablevision and Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
's educational publishing units to Pearson plc
Pearson PLC
Pearson plc is a global media and education company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is both the largest education company and the largest book publisher in the world, with consumer imprints including Penguin, Dorling Kindersley and Ladybird...
for almost $4 billion), Redstone turned Viacom's expenditure into a substantial profit. Under Redstone's leadership, Paramount went on an almost ten-year streak of record performance, producing such films as Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
, Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
(one of the highest grossing film of all time and Best Picture Academy Award winner), Braveheart
Braveheart
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
(Best Picture Academy Award), and Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
(also a Best Picture winner) and the creation of the hugely successful Mission: Impossible series of pictures.
Redstone replaced the team of Jonathan Dolgen and Sherry Lansing
Sherry Lansing
Sherry Lansing is a former actress and American film studio executive. She is former CEO of Paramount Pictures, and when president of production at 20th Century Fox was the first woman to head a Hollywood studio In 1996, she became the first woman named Pioneer of the Year by the Foundation of...
in 2004 after their nine-year winning streak ended. Along with the strong slate of films they oversaw, Dolgen and Lansing’s accomplishments included: doubling the size of Paramount's music publishing division, Famous Music; expanding UCI Cinemas into 13 foreign countries; creating the Digital Cinema Initiatives standards body for the new digital film technology; introducing the DVD; and launching the UPN Network (later part of CBS and now called the CW). The current Paramount Pictures consists only of the movie studio, the other groups having been sold or parceled out to other divisions.
Since arriving at Paramount in 2005, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brad Grey has led a return to fortune at the box office. He has overseen the creation or revitalization of several major franchises, including "Transformers," "Star Trek" and "Paranormal Activity." Paramount has also forged productive relationships with top-tier filmmakers and talent including J.J. Abrams, Michael Bay and Martin Scorsese). The 2010 Paramount slate achieved much success with Shutter Island and a True Grit
True Grit (2010 film)
True Grit is a 2010 American Western film written and directed by the Coen brothers. It is the second adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed in 1969 starring John Wayne. This version stars Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross and Jeff Bridges as U.S....
remake, reaching the biggest box office totals in the storied careers of Martin Scorsese and the Coen Brothers, respectively. In addition, during Grey’s tenure, Paramount launched its own worldwide releasing arm, Paramount Pictures International, and has released acclaimed films such as An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
, Up in the Air
Up in the Air (film)
Up in the Air is a 2009 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name, written by Walter Kirn. The story is about a corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham and his travels...
, and There Will Be Blood
There Will Be Blood
There Will Be Blood is a 2007 drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film is based on Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel Oil!. It tells the story of a silver miner-turned-oilman on a ruthless quest for wealth during Southern California's oil boom of the late 19th and...
.
The Paramount acquisition was only the tip of the iceberg. He purchased Blockbuster Entertainment, which included Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
's production company and a huge library of films, much of which has been merged into Paramount Pictures. Blockbuster has now been spun off into its own independent entity. Redstone acquired CBS Corporation in 2000 and then spun it off as a separate company in 2005, taking with it all of Paramount's television shows and catalog. Following the CBS and Blockbuster Spinoffs, Viacom consists of MTV Networks (MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, Noggin etc.), music publishing (Famous Music) and Paramount Pictures.
In December 2005, Redstone announced that Paramount had agreed to buy DreamWorks SKG for an estimated $1.6 billion. The acquisition was completed on February 1, 2006. A subsequent financing brought Viacom's investment down to $700 million. The animation studio, DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
, was not included in the deal as it has been its own company since late 2004. However, Paramount now has the rights to distribute films by DreamWorks Animation.
CBS
One of Redstone's largest acquisitions came in the form of Viacom's former parent, CBS. Former Viacom President & COO Mel KarmazinMel Karmazin
Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin is an American executive. He co-founded and was the president of Infinity Broadcasting and eventually became the president and chief executive officer of CBS. As of 2008, he is the CEO of Sirius XM Radio....
(who was then the President of CBS) proposed a merger to Redstone on favorable terms and after the merger completed in 2000, Viacom had some of the most diversified businesses imaginable. Viacom had assets in the form of broadcast networks (CBS and UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
), cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
networks (MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
, Nickelodeon, MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
, Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
, BET
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
, Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite is the nighttime Cable network that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon on Sundays from 8.p.m.-7.am., Monday through Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. . Though it shares channel space with Nickelodeon, A.C. Nielsen Co...
, Noggin/The N, TV Land
TV Land
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
, CMT
Country Music Television
Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
, and Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
), pay television (Showtime and The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel is an American premium channel owned by Showtime Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, which shows mostly movies, as well as special behind-the-scenes features, softcore adult erotica and movie trivia....
), radio
Radio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
(Infinity Broadcasting, which produced the immensely popular Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
' radio show
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
s), outdoor advertising, motion pictures (Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
), and television production (Spelling Entertainment, Paramount Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
, and Big Ticket Entertainment
Big Ticket Entertainment
Big Ticket Television, Inc. is a production company that is a unit of CBS Television Studios , a division of CBS Corporation since the split of Viacom at the end of 2005.The company was launched in 1994 under the Spelling Entertainment Group, which was acquired by Viacom Big Ticket Television,...
), and King World Productions
King World Productions
King World Productions, Inc. was a production company and a syndicator of television programming in the United States until its eventual 2007 incorporation into CBS Television Distribution...
(a syndication unit, which notably syndicates the runaway daytime hit, The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, as well as Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
), among others.
After CBS and Viacom split in late 2005, Redstone remained chairman of both companies.
Succession
Redstone's trusts make it clear that his daughter, Shari RedstoneShari Redstone
Shari Ellin Redstone is an American businesswoman. She is the president of National Amusements, vice-chairman of CBS Corporation and Viacom, and on December 21, 2007 became chairman of Midway Games...
(Vice-Chairwoman of the Board of Viacom and CBS as well as President of National Amusements), is set to assume his role upon his death. However, a November 22, 2006, New York Times article indicated that Redstone was reconsidering his daughter's role. Recently they have been feuding publicly over issues of corporate governance and the future of the cinema chain. There have also been numerous articles stating that Sumner's marriage is in trouble.
Documents have recently been made public which verify that, as part of a settlement from Sumner's first divorce, all of Sumner's stock is in irrevocable trusts
Trust law
In common law legal systems, a trust is a relationship whereby property is held by one party for the benefit of another...
that will be left for his grandchildren. On March 1, 2010, Sumner publicly announced that all of his stock will be left for his grandchildren.
Redstone made arrangements to step down as CEO of Viacom in 2006. After Mel Karmazin resigned in 2004, two heirs apparent were named: Co-President & Co-COO Leslie Moonves
Leslie Moonves
Leslie Moonves is President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation.Moonves served as co-president and co-chief operating officer of Viacom, Inc., the predecessor to CBS Corporation, from 2004 until the company split on December 31, 2005...
(who was #2 to Karmazin at CBS; he was the former head of Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
and before that, Lorimar Television) and Co-President & Co-COO Tom Freston
Tom Freston
Thomas E. Freston is an American entertainment industry executive. He currently is a principal in Firefly3 LLC, a consulting and investment company. Currently he consults Oprah Winfrey, among others....
(who had been President & CEO of MTV Networks since 1987 and had been with the company since the formation of MTV Networks' precursor company, Warner-AMEX Satellite Entertainment). Since the Viacom split, Moonves has headed CBS, and Freston had headed the new Viacom, Inc.
When Moonves was promoted to Co-President & Co-COO with Tom Freston, there was speculation that he was on the short list of executives to replace Michael Eisner
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner is an American businessman. He was the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until 2005.-Early life:...
at the Walt Disney Company whose contract expired in 2006. Redstone has confirmed publicly in Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
that he originally offered the position only to Freston who initially turned it down and later relented when Redstone made it clear he was going to ask Moonves next.
On September 5, 2006, Redstone removed Tom Freston
Tom Freston
Thomas E. Freston is an American entertainment industry executive. He currently is a principal in Firefly3 LLC, a consulting and investment company. Currently he consults Oprah Winfrey, among others....
as President and CEO of Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
and replaced him with director and former Viacom counsel Philippe Dauman
Philippe Dauman
Philippe Dauman is the President and CEO of Viacom. He has served at this post since September 2006. Dauman is a longtime associate of the company's chairman Sumner Redstone...
. He also brought back former CFO Tom Dooley. This was surprising to many, as Freston had been seen by many as Redstone's heir apparent and that Redstone touted that Freston would run the company after he retired. Redstone publicly stated that he let Freston go because of Viacom's lack of aggressiveness in the digital/online arena, lack of contact with investors, and a lackluster upfront (coupled with falling viewership) at MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
.
The company split was approved by the Viacom board on June 14, 2005.
Holdings
Currently, Redstone owns over seventy percent of the voting stock of Viacom, which, in actuality, is a not wholly owned subsidiary of National AmusementsNational Amusements
National Amusements, Inc. is a privately owned theatre company based in Dedham, Massachusetts, USA. The company was founded in 1936 as the Northeast Theatre Corporation by Michael Redstone....
, which is his privately held, family-owned company. CBS Corporation, likewise, is controlled by Redstone through National Amusements. Redstone sold his holdings of Midway Games
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
, of over eighty-nine percent, in December 2008.
Personal
In 1999 Redstone was divorced from his first wife of 55 years, Phyllis Gloria Raphael. He is the father of Shari RedstoneShari Redstone
Shari Ellin Redstone is an American businesswoman. She is the president of National Amusements, vice-chairman of CBS Corporation and Viacom, and on December 21, 2007 became chairman of Midway Games...
and Brent Redstone
Brent Redstone
Brent Redstone is an American entrepreneur. He is the one-sixth owner of National Amusements, which is the majority owner of CBS Corporation, Viacom, MTV Networks, BET. National Amusements is also the majority owner of Paramount Pictures, which deals in movie production and distribution,...
. Three years after his divorce, he married Paula Fortunato, a former primary school teacher who is 39 years his junior. Sumner Redstone filed for divorce from Paula on Friday, October 17, 2008. Their divorce was finalized on January 22, 2009.
Redstone owns a house in the Beverly Park
Beverly Park
Beverly Park, divided into North Beverly Park and South Beverly Park, is a private gated community located in the hills above Los Angeles, California; this wealthy neighborhood is known for its concentration of exceptionally large houses, up to , and for its famous residents...
area of Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, which he purchased in 2002 for $14,500,000.
In July 2010, Redstone was caught on tape, trying to find the source of an apparently embarrassing leak within his own MTV. Redstone offered money and protection to a journalist if he would give up his source. Apparently Mr. Redstone had been pushing MTV management to give more airtime to a girl band called the Electric Barbarellas
Electric Barbarellas
The Electric Barbarellas are an American girl pop group whose career with producers Midi Mafia is charted on a reality show on MTV. Their name comes from the 1997 single "Electric Barbarella" by the English pop band Duran Duran. They performed on the The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on May...
. 'On the message, Redstone tells the reporter that "we're not going to kill" the source, adding: "We just want to talk to him." The 87-year-old Redstone also tells the reporter he will be "well rewarded and well protected" if he gives up the source. Lauria told NBC's "Today" show Wednesday he wouldn't do it. Viacom Inc. spokesman Carl Folta confirmed to "Today" that it was Redstone's voice on the message and said the mogul had made a mistake. A Viacom source tells the Post today, "Sumner wants to be consequential. Sumner is really proud of what he did. This guy is loving it ... He likes people to know he's still alive."
Books
Redstone's autobiography, A Passion To Win (co-written with author Peter KnoblerPeter Knobler
Peter Knobler is an American writer living in New York City. He has collaborated on several national best sellers and was the editor-in-chief of Crawdaddy magazine from 1972 to 1979.- Writing :...
), was published in 2001 by Viacom's Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
. This book details everything from Redstone's life as a young boy in Boston to the difficult takeover of Viacom and the problems he overcame in purchasing and managing both Blockbuster Video and Paramount Pictures. The book also recounts the legendary CBS merger (Viacom was a spin-off company of CBS to syndicate its programs, and the subsidiary bought the parent almost 30 years later).
Viacom's broadcasting properties at the time of A Passion To Wins release included several radio stations and two TV stations: WBZ CBS 4
WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WBZ-TV's studios and office facilities, shared with sister station WSBK-TV , are located in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston, and its transmitter is located in Needham,...
, which had just become a CBS O&O through a merger with Westinghouse four years before Viacom and CBS merged, and WSBK UPN 38
WSBK-TV
WSBK-TV is a MyNetworkTV television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128...
in Redstone's hometown, Boston.
Net worth
In 2007 he was ranked #86 on Forbes magazineForbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
's list of the hundred richest people in the world, with an estimated worth of US$ 9 billion
1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
. The declining stock market of late 2008 impacted his wealth. Recently, with the partial recovery of the stock market, Sumner Redstone's net worth is again on the rise. In March 2011, Forbes estimated Sumner's net worth to be 3.8 billion dollars.
Political views
While claiming to be a DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
supporter, and having a history of donating to many Democratic campaigns, including regular donations to the late Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
, John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, and former Senate Majority Leader
Party leaders of the United States Senate
The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
Tom Daschle
Tom Daschle
Thomas Andrew "Tom" Daschle is a former U.S. Senator from South Dakota and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
, he endorsed Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
over Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
, allegedly because he argued that Bush would be better for his company and the economy. Despite this public endorsement, he donated money to John F Kerry during the primaries.
Philanthropy
In April 2007, Sumner M. Redstone announced a commitment of $105 million in charitable grants to fund research and patient care advancements in cancer and burn recovery at three major non-profit healthcare organizations. The cash contributions of $35 million each will be paid out over five years to FasterCures/The Center for Accelerating Medical Solutions, based in Washington D.C.; the Cedars-Sinai Prostate Cancer Center in Los Angeles, California; and the Massachusetts General HospitalMassachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Sumner is a philanthropist. He recently contributed $500,000 (the largest donation the charity could accept) to the Cambodian Children's Fund, a nonprofit program that provides a wide range of critical health and educational services to impoverished and abused children in the capital city of Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
. Redstone's contribution will be used to create the Sumner M. Redstone Child Rescue Center, a stand-alone facility scheduled to open during the fall of 2007 for children 5 to 16.
In early 2010, Autism Speaks announced that Sumner Redstone made a $1 million donation to be applied to scientific research into autism's causes, improved treatments, and, ultimately, its cures. Part of the gift will support Autism Speaks' programs for children, adults and families. While Redstone has supported Autism Speaks since 2007, this is his largest gift to date.
In July 2010, Redstone donated $24 million to the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
to support cancer research.
Further reading
- Auletta, Ken, "The Highwaymen", Harvest Books, 1998. ISBN 0-15-600573-5
- "Sumner's Fall: Freston's Firing Costs Him $113M" by Tim Arango, New York PostNew York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, September 7, 2006.
