Sumner Redstone

Sumner Redstone
Born	Sumner Murray Rothstein 27 5, 1923
Birthplace	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Businessman, media executive
Known for	Chairman of Viacom, CBS Corporation, and National Amusements
Education	Harvard University (B.A., LL.B.)
Children	2
Awards	Army Commendation Award

Sumner Murray Redstone (born Sumner Murray Rothstein; May 27, 1923 – August 11, 2020) was an American billionaire businessman and media magnate who, over the course of more than five decades, assembled one of the largest media empires in the world. As the majority owner and chairman of National Amusements, the theater chain founded by his father, Redstone leveraged his controlling stake to acquire Viacom in 1987 and later CBS Corporation, ultimately becoming the majority voting shareholder of the merged entity ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global), which encompassed the Paramount Pictures film studio, the CBS television network, and numerous cable channels including MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central. His career was defined by aggressive deal-making, protracted legal battles, and a philosophy he often summarized as "content is king." Redstone survived a near-fatal hotel fire in 1979 that left him with severe burns over much of his body, an experience he credited with deepening his determination. In his final years, a series of legal disputes over his mental competency and corporate control drew national attention, culminating in his resignation from the chairmanships of both CBS and Viacom in February 2016. At the time of his death, Forbes estimated his net worth at approximately US$2.6 billion.

Early Life

Sumner Murray Rothstein was born on May 27, 1923, in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Michael Rothstein and Belle Ostrovsky. His family was of Jewish descent. Michael Rothstein, who operated a liquor business and later a drive-in movie theater, changed the family surname from Rothstein to Redstone when Sumner was a teenager, a decision reportedly motivated by a desire to adopt a more Americanized name.

Redstone grew up in a modest household in the Boston area. He attended Boston Latin School, one of the oldest and most prestigious public schools in the United States, where he demonstrated academic aptitude at an early age. His father's entry into the drive-in theater business during the mid-twentieth century would prove formative; Michael Redstone founded National Amusements in 1936 as a small chain of drive-in cinemas in the northeastern United States, a family enterprise that would eventually become the foundation of his son's media empire.

During World War II, Redstone served in the United States Army from 1944 to 1945. He was assigned to the Signals Intelligence Service, the Army's codebreaking unit, where he worked on breaking Japanese military codes. He achieved the rank of First Lieutenant and received an Army Commendation Award for his service. The experience of military intelligence work, which demanded analytical rigor and problem-solving under pressure, informed Redstone's later approach to business strategy.

The near-fatal fire that would come to define much of Redstone's personal mythology occurred in 1979 at Boston's Copley Plaza Hotel. Trapped in his room as flames engulfed the building, Redstone clung to a window ledge with one hand while fire burned over 45 percent of his body. He underwent multiple surgeries and a lengthy rehabilitation. The incident, which nearly claimed his life, became central to the narrative Redstone constructed about his own tenacity and will to survive.

Education

Redstone attended Boston Latin School before enrolling at Harvard University, where he earned his undergraduate degree. He subsequently attended Harvard Law School, earning his LL.B. degree. At Harvard, Redstone was known as a diligent student, and his legal training would prove instrumental in the series of corporate acquisitions and legal battles that characterized his career. Following law school, Redstone briefly worked in Washington, D.C., including a stint with the federal government, before returning to Boston to join his father's theater business.

Redstone maintained a lifelong connection to Harvard. He later donated $10 million to Harvard Law School to support public service programs, one of several major philanthropic gifts he made to the university over the decades.

Career

National Amusements

Redstone joined National Amusements, the drive-in theater company founded by his father Michael Redstone in 1936, after completing his education and a brief period in government work. Under Sumner Redstone's leadership, the company transitioned from a chain of drive-in theaters to a major operator of indoor multiplex cinemas across the northeastern United States. By the 1980s, National Amusements had grown into a substantial theater chain with operations extending beyond New England.

The critical significance of National Amusements lay not merely in its theater operations but in its role as a holding company. Redstone used the company as a vehicle for acquiring stakes in media companies, a strategy that would define the next several decades of his career. National Amusements' ownership structure — with Redstone holding a controlling interest — gave him the leverage to pursue far larger targets in the media industry.

Acquisition of Viacom

Redstone's most consequential business move came in 1987, when he launched a hostile takeover bid for Viacom, then a mid-sized media company that owned cable networks and television stations. The acquisition was completed in 1987 at a price of approximately $3.4 billion, a sum that many Wall Street analysts considered excessive at the time. The deal was financed largely with debt, and Redstone faced immediate skepticism about his ability to service the borrowings while growing the company.

The New York Times characterized the Viacom acquisition as Redstone's "toughest challenge yet," noting the financial risks involved and the complexity of managing a diversified media company. Redstone, however, viewed Viacom's cable assets — which included MTV, Nickelodeon, and Showtime — as undervalued properties with substantial growth potential. His conviction that content would drive value in the emerging multi-channel television landscape proved prescient.

Under Redstone's ownership, Viacom expanded aggressively throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. The company became one of the dominant forces in American media, with its cable networks reaching tens of millions of households and generating significant advertising and subscription revenue.

Paramount Pictures Acquisition

In 1994, Redstone and Viacom completed a bitterly contested acquisition of Paramount Communications (formerly Gulf+Western Industries), the parent company of Paramount Pictures, one of Hollywood's oldest and most storied film studios. The deal, which also included the publishing house Simon & Schuster, was notable for a protracted bidding war against Barry Diller and QVC. Redstone ultimately prevailed, paying approximately $10 billion for the company.

The acquisition of Paramount was a transformative moment for Viacom, giving the company a major film studio and its associated library of intellectual property. Redstone's belief that owning content — movies, television shows, and publishing — was the key to long-term value creation was central to his strategy. The phrase "content is king," which Redstone frequently invoked, became one of the most repeated maxims in the media industry.

Over the following years, Paramount Pictures experienced periods of both commercial success and underperformance. In 2006, The New York Times reported on the studio's efforts to revitalize its film slate under the leadership of producer Brad Grey, whom Redstone had installed as chairman. By 2009, Paramount was pursuing new strategies, including the creation of genre-focused labels. Director Michael Bay launched a genre label at Paramount during this period. The New York Times also reported in 2009 on the challenges facing the studio under economic pressures.

CBS Acquisition and the Split

In 1999, Viacom announced its acquisition of CBS Corporation for approximately $37 billion, creating one of the largest media companies in the world. The merger united Viacom's cable networks and film studio with CBS's broadcast television network, radio stations, and outdoor advertising business. Redstone served as chairman of the combined entity.

However, the expected synergies between the broadcast and cable operations proved elusive, and internal tensions within the company led Redstone to split Viacom into two publicly traded companies in 2006. The separation created a new CBS Corporation, focused on broadcast television, radio, and outdoor advertising, and a new Viacom, which retained the cable networks and Paramount Pictures. Crucially, National Amusements maintained majority voting control of both companies, ensuring that Redstone remained the dominant figure in both entities despite the split.

The dual structure allowed Redstone to maintain influence over a vast media landscape while theoretically allowing each company's management to pursue strategies tailored to their respective businesses. Les Moonves led CBS Corporation as chief executive, while Philippe Dauman served as CEO of the new Viacom.

Competency Disputes and Resignation

Redstone's final years as an active media executive were marked by intense legal and corporate disputes centered on his mental and physical capacity to continue leading his companies. By the mid-2010s, Redstone's health had deteriorated significantly; he was largely unable to speak clearly and required round-the-clock care.

In late 2015 and early 2016, a series of legal actions brought the question of Redstone's competency into public view. Manuela Herzer, a former companion of Redstone, filed a lawsuit challenging changes to his health care directive, arguing that he lacked the mental capacity to make decisions. The case drew widespread media coverage and raised fundamental questions about corporate governance in companies controlled by aging founders.

In February 2016, at the age of 92, Redstone resigned as executive chairman of both CBS Corporation and Viacom following a court-ordered examination by a geriatric psychiatrist. Les Moonves succeeded him as chairman at CBS, while Philippe Dauman was named chairman at Viacom.

In May 2016, a judge dismissed the competency lawsuit brought by Herzer, ruling in Redstone's favor. However, the legal drama continued as Redstone's daughter, Shari Redstone, moved to assert greater control over the family's media holdings through National Amusements. A power struggle between Shari Redstone and Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman dominated headlines in 2016, with The New York Times chronicling the conflict over the direction of the company. Dauman was eventually ousted, and Shari Redstone emerged as the dominant figure in the family's media holdings.

CBS-Viacom Reunification

In 2019, one year before Redstone's death, CBS and Viacom were reunited through a merger that created ViacomCBS (later renamed Paramount Global). The reunification was driven in significant part by Shari Redstone, who had advocated for combining the two companies for years. The merged entity brought together CBS's broadcast television assets with Viacom's cable networks and Paramount Pictures under a single corporate umbrella, returning to a structure broadly similar to the one that had existed before the 2006 split.

Sumner Redstone, though no longer an active participant in corporate decision-making, remained the majority voting shareholder of both companies through National Amusements until the merger was completed.

Personal Life

Redstone was married twice. His first marriage, to Phyllis Gloria Raphael, lasted several decades and produced two children: Brent Redstone and Shari Redstone. The marriage ended in divorce. He later married Paula Fortunato, a schoolteacher; that marriage also ended in divorce.

Redstone's relationship with his children was at times contentious. His son Brent filed a lawsuit against his father and the family trust, alleging that he had been marginalized within the family business. Shari Redstone, by contrast, became increasingly involved in the management of National Amusements and the family's media holdings, particularly after Sumner's health declined. She ultimately assumed effective control of the family's media empire and played a central role in the 2019 CBS-Viacom merger.

In his later years, Redstone's personal life became the subject of extensive media scrutiny, particularly his relationships with younger women, including Manuela Herzer and Sydney Holland, both of whom were removed from his health care directive and estate plans in late 2015, prompting the competency litigation that preceded his resignation from CBS and Viacom.

Redstone's political donations were documented as spanning both parties over the years, though he publicly supported George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election, writing in The Wall Street Journal that he believed Bush's policies were better for Viacom. His political contributions were also tracked by various watchdog organizations.

Sumner Redstone died on August 11, 2020, at his home in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 97. He was buried at Sharon Memorial Park in Sharon, Massachusetts.

Recognition

Redstone received recognition from numerous institutions for both his business achievements and his philanthropic activities.

His $10 million donation to Harvard Law School supported public service initiatives and was among the largest gifts the school had received for that purpose. He also made a $24 million gift to the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California to support medical research and education.

Through the Sumner M. Redstone Foundation, he supported a range of charitable causes. Notable among these was a $500,000 donation to Autism Speaks, the autism research and advocacy organization. The Sumner M. Redstone Foundation supported medical research, education, and cultural initiatives across the United States.

For his military service during World War II in the Signals Intelligence Service, Redstone received an Army Commendation Award for his contributions to the Allied codebreaking effort against Japan.

Legacy

Sumner Redstone's career spanned the transformation of the American media industry from a landscape dominated by broadcast networks and movie studios into the era of cable television, digital distribution, and global media conglomerates. His central insight — that control of content would prove more valuable than control of distribution — anticipated developments that continued to reshape the industry well after his active involvement ended.

The corporate structure Redstone created, with National Amusements serving as a holding company through which a single family maintained voting control over two of the largest media companies in the world, became a subject of study in corporate governance. The structure's advantages — including the ability to pursue long-term strategies without the pressure of quarterly earnings expectations — were counterbalanced by the governance challenges that became apparent in Redstone's final years, when questions about his competency raised concerns about accountability in dual-class share structures.

His daughter, Shari Redstone, inherited control of National Amusements and the family's media holdings after his death, continuing the family dynasty that Sumner had built from his father Michael's drive-in theater chain. The reunified ViacomCBS (later Paramount Global) that Shari helped bring about in 2019 represented the culmination of a corporate saga that had played out over more than three decades under Sumner's leadership.

Redstone's maxim that "content is king" became one of the most frequently cited principles in media business strategy, influencing generations of executives and investors. The acquisitions he orchestrated — Viacom, Paramount, CBS — created a portfolio of brands and intellectual property that remained among the most valuable in the entertainment industry.

The legal battles of his final years, including the competency disputes and the corporate power struggles within Viacom, also left a lasting imprint on discussions about succession planning, elder governance, and the responsibilities of boards of directors in companies controlled by aging founders.