Sumner Redstone
Born 1923 · Age 102
American media magnate; longtime chairman and controlling shareholder of National Amusements and the media companies Viacom and CBS/ViacomCBS. Built a media empire through acquisitions of Viacom, Paramount, CBS and other assets; philanthropist.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born Sumner Murray Rothstein
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Belle (Ostrovsky) and Michael Rothstein.
Family surname changed to Redstone
The family surname was changed from Rothstein to Redstone (translation of Rothstein in Yiddish); Sumner instigated or credited the change.
Graduated Boston Latin School (first in class)
Graduated top of his class from Boston Latin School and earned a scholarship to Harvard College.
Enrolled in Japanese language/cryptanalysis training
Followed Harvard professor Edwin O. Reischauer to Arlington Hall to study Japanese translation/cryptanalysis for the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
Commissioned and served in U.S. Army Signals Intelligence
Became a second lieutenant (later promoted to first lieutenant) and worked on decoding Japanese messages for the Signals Intelligence Service during WWII.
Harvard College degree (A.B., class of 1944)
Harvard granted his Bachelor of Arts (concentration in classics and government) while he served in the military.
Harvard Law School LLB
Completed law degree (Bachelor of Laws) from Harvard Law School.
Clerkship, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Moved to San Francisco to clerk for the Ninth Circuit (paid $43/week); also taught evening labor law at University of San Francisco School of Law.
Married Phyllis Gloria Raphael
Married Phyllis Gloria Raphael; they later had two children, Brent and Shari.
Joined U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division
Became a staff attorney in the DOJ appellate tax division during the post-Paramount antitrust era.
Entered private legal practice
Left the Justice Department and followed supervisors to private practice (transition from public to private law work).
Named partner at Ford, Bergson, Adams, Borkland & Redstone
Became partner at a private law firm with former DOJ supervisors and Deputy Attorney General Peyton Ford.
Argued Holland v. United States (Supreme Court)
Represented plaintiffs (hotel owners) in a tax-evasion case before the U.S. Supreme Court; although conviction was upheld, his legal doctrine influenced IRS policy on burden of proof in unexplained increases in net worth.
Joined father's theater business (Northeast Theatre Corporation)
Left law practice to join the family theater chain which operated about a dozen drive-in theaters; began transition to entertainment business.
Reincorporated businesses as National Amusements; invested
Family re-incorporated as National Amusements to raise capital; Sumner invested nearly $18,000 and was named vice president.
Elected president, Theater Owners of America
Elected president of the Theater Owners of America (which later merged into the National Association of Theatre Owners).
Became chairman, National Association of Theatre Owners
After merger that formed the National Association of Theatre Owners, Redstone became chairman of the organization.
Became CEO of National Amusements
Named CEO; company had about 93 screens (52 drive-ins, 41 indoor) at the time and he began major expansion.
Directed National Amusements to buy a stake in 20th Century Fox after Star Wars
Ordered purchase of a roughly 5% stake in 20th Century Fox after seeing Star Wars; reportedly bought at about $8/share.
Copley Plaza Hotel fire — severe burns and recovery
Suffered severe burns in hotel fire; underwent extensive surgery and a long recovery, an event he later cited as shaping his determination.
Sold earlier Fox stake at substantial profit (approx.)
After Marvin Davis purchased 20th Century Fox, National Amusements reportedly sold its Fox stake (bought at near $8/share, sold near $60/share). Date approximate.
Began buying Viacom stock as hedge against theaters
Started purchasing shares in Viacom International to diversify away from theaters into cable and syndication.
Viacom acquired MTV Networks (industry milestone)
Viacom's acquisition of MTV Networks from Warner-AMEX for $550 million broadened appeal of the company Redstone was investing in (1985 transaction).
Completed hostile takeover of Viacom (won voting control)
After a four-month hostile takeover battle, won voting control of Viacom for approximately $3.4 billion.
Acquired Paramount Communications (Gulf+Western) after bidding war
Purchased Paramount in a bidding war, ultimately raising his bid to about $10.1 billion (initially $7.5B); Viacom took on substantial debt to finance the deal.
Elected CEO of Viacom (company leadership milestone)
Reportedly elected Viacom's chief executive (per sources), increasing direct operational control over the conglomerate.
Viacom announced acquisition of CBS for $37.3 billion
Viacom and CBS agreed to merge; transaction announced as a $37.3 billion deal, reuniting CBS with Viacom assets.
Viacom acquired BET (reported transaction)
Viacom acquired Black Entertainment Television (BET); some sources report the deal was valued at about $2.3 billion in stock (2000).
Published autobiography 'A Passion to Win'
Released autobiography co-written with Peter Knobler describing his life and business battles.
Married Paula Fortunato
Married Paula Fortunato (a former primary school teacher, 39 years his junior).
Purchased Beverly Park house
Bought a house in the Beverly Park area of Los Angeles for $14.5 million.
Survived prostate cancer (reported)
Reportedly survived prostate cancer; continued active role in his businesses.
Viacom–CBS split arranged (board approved June 2005)
Board approved splitting Viacom and CBS into two public companies (approved June 14, 2005); Redstone remained chairman of both separate companies.
Paramount agreed to buy DreamWorks SKG (est. $1.6B)
Paramount (under Redstone's control) agreed in Dec 2005 to buy DreamWorks SKG for about $1.6 billion; deal closed Feb 1, 2006 with financing adjustments.
Viacom split completed (Viacom and CBS separate)
Corporate split of Viacom and CBS completed; two separate public companies established (Redstone remained chairman of both).
Fired Tom Freston; appointed Philippe Dauman as Viacom CEO
Removed Tom Freston as Viacom CEO and replaced him with Philippe Dauman; also reinstated former CFO Tom Dooley.
Committed $105 million to cancer and burn recovery research
Announced a $105 million commitment (three $35M gifts, paid over five years) to FasterCures, Cedars-Sinai Prostate Cancer Center, and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Filed for divorce from Paula Fortunato
Filed for divorce October 17, 2008; divorce finalized January 22, 2009.
Sold holdings in Midway Games (over 89%)
Sold his large Midway Games stake (reported over 89%) in December 2008.
Pledged $1 million to Autism Speaks
Pledged $1,000,000 to Autism Speaks for research and treatments (early 2010); had previously given to the organization.
Controversial voicemail re: MTV leak (offered reward/protection)
Caught on tape offering money/protection to a journalist to reveal a source after an internal leak at MTV; generated public controversy.
Donated $24 million to USC Keck School of Medicine
Donated $24,000,000 to USC Keck to support cancer research (July 2010).
Additional $500K to Autism Speaks (cumulative $1.7M)
Gave an additional $500,000 bringing his total reported contributions to Autism Speaks to about $1.7M.
Began donating to the Go Campaign (total $350K reported)
Starting in October 2012, he donated a total of $350,000 to Go Campaign to aid orphans and needy children.
Paramount lot administration building renamed 'Sumner Redstone Building'
Paramount Pictures renamed its Administration Building on the studio lot the Sumner Redstone Building in a dedication ceremony.
Donated $18 million to Boston University School of Law
Gift funded part of the Sumner M. Redstone Building, a five-story classroom building opened in 2014.
Sumner M. Redstone Charitable Foundation donated $1M to Literacy Inc.
Foundation donated $1,000,000 to a New York City-based nonprofit focused on literacy.
Hospitalized for aspiration pneumonia; speech impaired
Experienced aspiration pneumonia (2014) that left him dependent on a feeding tube and severely impaired speech; health decline noted publicly.
Foundation donated $10M to Harvard Law School for public interest fellowships
Largest charitable contribution to Harvard Law School supporting public-service fellowships (announced January 2014).
Kicked Manuela Herzer out of Beverly Hills home — legal dispute begins
Began a protracted legal dispute with former live-in companion Manuela Herzer, who was later required to repay part of gifts and reached settlement in 2019.
Split with girlfriend Sydney Holland
Ended a five-year live-in relationship with Sydney Holland in August 2015 amid subsequent litigation and public interest.
Resigned as executive chairman of CBS and Viacom
After a court-ordered geriatric psychiatric examination, relinquished chairmanship of CBS (to Les Moonves) and Viacom (to Philippe Dauman).
Judge dismissed lawsuit alleging mental incompetence
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Cowan dismissed a lawsuit that had alleged Redstone lacked competency; the judge noted he suffered mild to moderate dementia.
Settled dispute with former companion Manuela Herzer
Family and Redstone settled legal disputes with Herzer; she agreed to repay $3.25 million of gifts and litigation ended (January 2019 settlement reported).
Forbes estimated net worth at $2.6 billion (April 2020)
Forbes reported Sumner Redstone's net worth as approximately USD 2.6 billion (April 2020).
Died at home in Los Angeles
Died on August 11, 2020, at age 97; cause of death officially not disclosed in the cited sources.
Film tribute — 'Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One' dedication
The film lists a memory/in-memoriam acknowledgement to Sumner Redstone (film released posthumously honoring him).
Key Achievement Ages
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