Sumner Redstone | |
|---|---|
 Redstone in 2001 | |
| Born | Sumner Murray Rothstein (1923-05-27)May 27, 1923 Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Died | August 11, 2020(2020-08-11) (aged 97) Los Angeles, California, US |
| Burial place | Sharon Memorial Park Sharon, Massachusetts |
| Education | Boston Latin School |
| Alma mater | Harvard University(AB,LLB) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for |
|
| Spouses | |
| Children | Brent Redstone Shari Redstone |
| Parents |
|
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Service years | 1944–1945 |
| Rank |  First lieutenant |
| Unit | Signals Intelligence Service |
| Conflict | World War II |
Sumner Murray Redstone (néRothstein; May 27, 1923 – August 11, 2020) was an American billionaire businessman andmedia magnate. He was the founder and chairman of the second incarnation ofViacom, chairman ofCBS Corporation (both companiesmerged in 2019, a year before Redstone's death), and themajority owner and chairman of theNational Amusements theater chain.
Until his death, Redstone was a majority voting shareholder of the media conglomerateViacomCBS, the parent company of theParamount Pictures film studio, theCBS television network, andvarious cable networks.
According toForbes, as of April 2020, he was worth US$2.6 billion.[1]
Redstone was formerly the executive chairman of both CBS and Viacom.[2][3] In February 2016, at age 92, Redstone resigned both chairmanships following a court-ordered examination by ageriatric psychiatrist. He was ultimately succeeded byLes Moonves at CBS andPhilippe Dauman at Viacom.[4]
Redstone was born Sumner Murray Rothstein in 1923 inBoston, Massachusetts, to Belle (née Ostrovsky) andMichael Rothstein.[5][6] Sumner was a second-generation Bostonian; his father Michael was born in Boston in 1902 toGalician Jewish parents originally fromKozova, ashtetl inAustro-Hungarian land now inUkraine.[7] His mother Bella was also an American-born child of Jewish immigrants; her parents emigrated to the U.S. fromKyiv early in the 20th century.[8]
In 1940, at Sumner's behest, his father changed the family surname from "Rothstein" to "Redstone"; although Sumner credited his father for the name change, friends of the family attribute it more to Sumner.[9] "Red stone" is the translation of theYiddish name Rothstein.[10][11] Michael Rothstein owned Northeast Theater Corporation inDedham, Massachusetts, the forerunner ofNational Amusements, and the Boston branch of theLatin Quarter Nightclub.[12][13] As a teenager, Sumner had summer jobs at his father's theaters but "had higher aspirations than the then-still-somewhat-déclassé world of theaters," wrote Keach Hagey.[14]
Redstone attended theBoston Latin School, from which he graduated in 1940 first in his class, and was accepted toHarvard College on scholarship.[15] Among his coursework at Harvard was a Japanese course taught by ProfessorEdwin O. Reischauer, recommended to him by college administrators based on his study of Latin and Greek in high school.[16] In 1943, Reischauer left Harvard to establish aUnited States Army Signal Corps training program atArlington Hall for Japanese translators andcryptanalysts, positions in need duringWorld War II; Redstone would be among Reischauer's students following the professor to Arlington Hall.[16]
Enlisting in theUnited States Army, Redstone became asecond lieutenant in 1944 before being promoted tofirst lieutenant. He worked with a team at theSignals Intelligence Service that decoded Japanese messages.[17]: p. 208 [16] Despite leaving Harvard for the military, Redstone had completed enough credits that Harvard granted hisBachelor of Arts in the class of 1944 with a concentration in classics and government.[16][5] After his military service, he attendedGeorgetown University Law Center before transferring toHarvard Law School and receiving hisBachelor of Laws degree in 1947.[5][18]
After completing law school, Redstone moved toSan Francisco to become a clerk with theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a job that then paid $43 per week. While employed by the Ninth Circuit, Redstone also taught labor law courses in the evenings atUniversity of San Francisco School of Law.[19] Beginning in 1948, Redstone joined theUnited States Department of Justice Tax Division as a staff attorney with the appellate tax division, in the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court caseUnited States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. when the government was actively combating anti-competitive practices amongParamount Pictures and other major film studios.[19]
After two years with the Justice Department, Redstone followed his supervisors to private practice in 1950.[19] Then in 1951, Redstone became a partner of the firm Ford, Bergson, Adams, Borkland, & Redstone with two of his former Justice Department supervisors Herbert Bergson and Herbert Borkland, along with former Deputy Attorney GeneralPeyton Ford.[19] In the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court caseHolland v. United States, Redstone represented the plaintiffs, a married couple of hotel owners convicted of tax evasion following a sudden rise in their net worth.[19][20] Although the court would uphold their conviction, Redstone's argument that the government had the burden of proof in proving tax evasion in unusual increases in net worth would later becomeInternal Revenue Service policy.[19][21]
In 1954, he joined his father's theater chain Northeast Theatre Corporation, which then had fourteen drive-in theaters in five eastern states.[22] The Redstone family re-incorporated Northeast Theatre Corporation and their other businesses asNational Amusements in 1959 to access more money to finance expansion; Redstone would invest nearly $18,000 in stock and be named vice president.[23] In 1964, Redstone was elected president of the Theater Owners of America, which would merge with a rival group to form theNational Association of Theatre Owners, for which Redstone became chairman in 1965.[24][25]
Redstone became CEO of National Amusements in 1967.[5] The company had 93 theater screens (52 drive-ins and 41 indoor) when Redstone took office; within 10 years, National Amusements had nearly 250 screens.[26] After watching the firstStar Wars film in 1977, Redstone directed National Amusements to buy a five percent stake in20th Century Fox, distributor ofStar Wars.[27] Having bought Fox for $8 a share, National Amusements sold Fox at $60 afterMarvin Davis bought the company.[27] National Amusements' other investments inColumbia Pictures,Orion Pictures, andParamount Pictures also had large returns on investment in the early 1980s.[28]
In 2025,Barry Diller stated that Redstone regularly bribed former Paramount CEOFrank Yablans, with former Paramount chairmanCharlie Bluhdorn having knowledge of this.[29]
As a hedge against slow growth in movie theaters, Redstone began buying stock inViacom International in 1985.[30] Viacom spun off fromCBS in 1971 after theFCC ruled at the time thattelevision networks could notsyndicate their own programs.[31] Viacom initially syndicated CBS network shows such asGunsmoke,Hawaii Five-O, andI Love Lucy.[32][33]
Viacom also ownedMTV Networks (formerly known as Warner-AMEX Satellite Entertainment), which ownedMTV andNickelodeon.[32] In addition, other properties included pay television networksShowtime andThe Movie Channel.[34] Viacom acquired MTV Networks in 1985 for $550 million fromSteve Ross'Warner Communications.[35]
After a four-monthhostile takeover, Redstone won voting control of Viacom for $3.4 billion on March 4, 1987.[36][37][38]
Redstone's next acquisition was Paramount Communications (previouslyGulf+Western), parent ofParamount Pictures, in 1994.[39] Engaging in a bidding war withQVC presidentBarry Diller andTCI presidentJohn Malone, Redstone had to raise his bid at least three times from $7.5 billion to $10.1 billion.[40][41] Some analysts at the time estimated that Redstone overpaid by billions, and Viacom would accrue nearly $10 billion in debt after acquiring Paramount. However, the sale of certain assets such asMadison Square Garden toCablevision andSimon & Schuster for $4.6 billion toPearson PLC would eventually help Viacom improve financially, with its stock price in 1998 approaching $60, breaking its 1995 record high.[42][43] Under Redstone's leadership, Paramount produced such popular, award-winning films asSaving Private Ryan,Titanic,Braveheart,Forrest Gump, andMission: Impossible.[44]
Redstone replaced the team of Jonathan Dolgen andSherry Lansing in 2004.[45] After arriving at Paramount in 2005, chairman and chief executive officerBrad Grey led a return to fortune at the box office.[46][47] He oversaw the creation or revitalization of several major franchises, includingTransformers,Star Trek andParanormal Activity.[48][49] Paramount also forged productive relationships with top-tier filmmakers and talent includingJ. J. Abrams,[50]Michael Bay[51] andMartin Scorsese.[52] The 2010 Paramount slate achieved much success withShutter Island and aTrue Grit remake, reaching the biggest box office totals in the storied careers of Martin Scorsese and theCoen Brothers, respectively.[53][54] In addition, during Grey's tenure, Paramount launched its own worldwide releasing arm,Paramount Pictures International, and has released acclaimed films such asAn Inconvenient Truth,Up in the Air, andThere Will Be Blood.[55]
He also purchasedBlockbuster Entertainment,[56] which includedAaron 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 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.[57][58]
In December 2005, Paramount agreed to buyDreamWorks SKG for an estimated $1.6 billion.[59] The acquisition was completed on February 1, 2006. 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 had the rights to distribute films by DreamWorks Animation until 2013.[60]
On June 1, 2012, Paramount Pictures renamed the Administration Building on the studio lot the Sumner Redstone Building in a dedication ceremony attended by employees of Paramount Pictures and Viacom.[61]
One of Redstone's largest acquisitions came in the form of Viacom's former parent, CBS. After the FCC modified regulations in 1999 to allow companies to own two television stations in the same media market, CBS president and former Viacom President and COOMel Karmazin proposed a merger with Redstone.[62] On September 7, 1999, Redstone and Karmazin announced that Viacom would buy CBS for $37.3 billion, at the time the biggest media merger of the twentieth century; the newly merged Viacom/CBS would become the second largest media company behindTime Warner.[63] Viacom had a wide range of assets such as the CBS andUPN broadcast networks;cable television networks includingMTV,VH1,Nickelodeon,Comedy Central, andBET; thepay television networkShowtime,radio (Infinity Broadcasting, which produced theHoward Sternradio shows),Paramount Pictures,Paramount Television, andKing World Productions.[64][65]
After CBS and Viacom split in 2005, Redstone remained chairman of both companies, but two separate CEOs were appointed for each company,Les Moonves forCBS andTom Freston forViacom.[66][58]
In 2007, formerCBS Evening News anchorDan Rather sued CBS and other parties such as Redstone in New York state court for breach of contract after CBS declined to renew his contract followinga controversy over a story by Rather on60 Minutes II about then-PresidentGeorge W. Bush'smilitary service. TheNew York Court of Appeals dismissed the case in 2009.[67]
Redstone's trusts made it clear that his daughter,Shari Redstone (vice-chairwoman of the board of Viacom and CBS as well as president of National Amusements), was 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. In 2007, they feuded publicly over issues of corporate governance and the future of the cinema chain.[68]
Documents were made public which verify that, as part of a settlement from Sumner Redstone's first divorce, all of his stock was inirrevocable trusts that was to be left for his grandchildren.[69] On March 1, 2010, Redstone publicly confirmed that all of his stock would be left for his five grandchildren (Brandon Korff, Kimberlee Korff, Tyler Korff, Keryn Redstone, and Lauren Redstone).[70]
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 and Co-COOLes Moonves (who was number 2 to Karmazin at CBS; he was the former head ofWarner Bros. Television and before that,Lorimar Television) and Co-President and Co-COOTom Freston (who had been president and CEO of MTV Networks since 1987 and had been with the company since the formation of MTV Networks' precursor company, Warner-AMEX Satellite Entertainment). After the Viacom split was approved by the board on June 14, 2005, Moonves headed CBS Corporation, and Freston headed the second incarnation of Viacom.[71]
On September 5, 2006, Redstone removed Freston as president and CEO of Viacom and replaced him with director and former Viacom counselPhilippe Dauman. Redstone 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 Redstone had 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) atMTV Networks.[72][73]
In February 2016, at age 92, after a court-ordered examination by ageriatric psychiatrist whose findings were not publicly disclosed, Redstone relinquished the chairmanship of CBS to Moonves and the chairmanship of Viacom to Dauman.[74][75][76] In May 2016, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Cowan dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Redstone was mentally incompetent.[77][78] The judge stated it was "not in dispute that Redstone suffers from either mild or moderate dementia."[79] In addition, his speech was severely impaired due to a bout withaspiration pneumonia in 2014.[80][81] Two weeks later, another such lawsuit was filed inMassachusetts.[82]
At the time of his death, Redstone owned over 70% of thevoting interest of ViacomCBS. ViacomCBS was controlled by Redstone through National Amusements. Redstone sold his holdings ofMidway Games, of over 89%, in December 2008.[83]
Redstone's autobiography,A Passion to Win[84] (co-written with authorPeter Knobler), was published in 2001 by Viacom'sSimon & Schuster. This book details Redstone's life from 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 CBS merger (Viacom was a spin-off company of CBS to syndicate its programs, and the subsidiary bought the parent almost 30 years later).[85]Succession creatorJesse Armstrong has stated that Redstone's biography A Passion to Win was an influence in creating the series.[86]
Viacom's broadcasting properties at the time ofA Passion to Win's 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, andWSBK UPN 38 in Redstone's hometown, Boston.[87][88]
In 2023, the bookUnscripted: The Epic Battle for a Hollywood Media Empire was published in Cornerstone Press (Penguin Books), written byJames B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams. The book tells the story of the Redstone dynasty.
A longtimeDemocratic supporter, with a history of donating to many Democratic campaigns, including regular donations toTed Kennedy,John Kerry, and formerSenate Majority LeaderTom Daschle,[89] Redstone endorsedRepublicanGeorge W. Bush over Kerry in the2004 Presidential election, allegedly because he argued that Bush would be better for his company and the economy.[90] Despite this public endorsement, he donated money to Kerry during the primaries.[91]
Redstone contributed over $150 million to various philanthropic causes[when?].[92]
Redstone married Phyllis Gloria Raphael on July 4, 1947.[104] They had two children:Brent Redstone andShari Redstone. In 1999, they divorced when Phyllis Raphael served Sumner Redstone a 3 billion dollar divorce lawsuit which accused the mogul of adultery and cruelty.[105] Sumner was seen with Hollywood producer Christine Peters in Paris and was quoted as saying at the time that he "wanted to spend the rest of his life with Christine."[106] As a result of the divorce, Redstone moved to Los Angeles where he continued to romantically pursue Peters. Peters went on to produce the hit romantic comedyHow to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in Canada. As Redstone's patience ran out, he married Paula Fortunato, a former primary school teacher 39 years his junior. Redstone filed for divorce from Fortunato on October 17, 2008.[107] Their divorce was finalized on January 22, 2009. Redstone owned a house in theBeverly Park area ofLos Angeles, which he purchased in 2002 for $14.5 million.[108]
On March 29, 1979, he suffered severe burns in a fire at theCopley Plaza hotel, in Boston, but survived after 30 hours of extensive surgery atMassachusetts General Hospital. Though he was warned that he might never be able to live a normal life again, eight years later he was fit enough to insist on playing tennis nearly every day[109] and to launch a hostile takeover of Viacom.[110] Redstone discussed the story of surviving the fire as a reflection of his strong determination and will to live.[111]
In July 2010, Redstone was caught on tape trying to find the source of an embarrassing leak within MTV. Redstone offered money and protection to a journalist if he would give up his source. Redstone had been pushing MTV management to give more airtime to the band theElectric Barbarellas. In 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 told the reporter he would be "well rewarded and well protected" if he would reveal the source.[112] Peter Lauria told NBC'sToday show he would not do it. Viacom Inc. spokesman, Carl Folta confirmed toToday that it was Redstone's voice on the message and said he had made a mistake.[113] A Viacom source told theNew York Post, "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".[114]
In August 2015, Redstone split with his live-in girlfriend, Sydney Holland, after five years together.[115][116]
In January 2019, Redstone and his family settled with his former live-in companion Manuela Herzer. According toMarketWatch, "Herzer agreed to pay back $3.25 million of the tens of millions of gifts that Redstone gave her", and "the wide-ranging agreement ends all litigation between the two sides, who have been battling in the courts since the fall of 2015 when Redstone kicked Herzer out of hisBeverly Hills mansion, replaced her as his health-care agent and wrote her out of his estate planning."[117][118]
On August 11, 2020, Redstone died at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 97.[119] The cause of death is unknown.
The filmMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is in memory of Redstone.[120]
In 2014, Redstone had been hospitalized on three separate occasions, twice for aspiration pneumonia...
