AT&T Inc. acquired Time Warner Inc., owner of HBO, CNN, TBS and Warner Bros. Disney in March completed its $71.3-billion takeover of much of Rupert Murdochs 21st Century Fox. Name & Location: Employer/Occupation: Dollar Amount: Date: Primary/ General: Contibuted To: REDSTONE, SHARI . Herzers lawsuit plunged National Amusements and Viacom into turmoil. Kimberlee, 38, is a lawyer. Father and daughter also joined forces to fight the Viacom board, which challenged Mr. Redstones mental competency in court in 2016. Key Points. Since the split, of course, the companies have followed very different trajectories. In the midst of closing a merger between CBS and Viacom, Shari Redstone is quietly exploring a plan to launch a conservative TV outlet meant to square off with the Fox News Channel, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. We only need 124 gifts to meet our goal of adding 1,500 financial contributions by the end of April, support that helps keep Vox free year-round. According to federal records, she has given exclusively to Democrats in recent years, though not as prolifically as her father. The case was eventually settled. The case, brought to [], Master, Boston University; Bachelor of Arts/Science, Tufts University. With the messy Succession-like storyline laid to rest with her father, Shari Redstone still has to prove she can keep the familys $3 billion fortune intact. By. In more than 50 years as a force in the media industry, Sumner M. Redstone clashed with his only son, his nephew, his wife, his romantic partners, his business rivals and the actor Tom Cruise. The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production and what it all means for the future. According to Herzers lawsuit, and the documents she has obtained as a result of filing it, the feuding between Shari and Sumner began in 2007 after Shari voted to block a $105 million charitable gift that Sumner wanted to make to hospitals in Massachusetts and California. The ups and downs were complicated by his illness and his tabloid-fodder private life. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. :I Ms. McGrath pointed to Ms. Redstones skill in assembling allies under pressure, adding, She was actually incredibly effective at pulling together a coalition of very smart people who were willing to challenge Sumner, who were basically betting their careers that shed be able to come out on top. 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By Todd Williamson/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock. In a September 2014 e-mail to Tyler, Shari wrote about why she rejected the $1 billion offer: Why would I ever give [Sumner] his dying wish of peace when he never gave me any peace during my whole life. She wrote her daughter, in October 2014, after she had called her grandfather, I cant believe you keep calling him when he could not make it any clearer that all of us could drop dead and it would be the happiest day of his life. That same day, to all of her children, Shari wrote, It could be [sic] not be more clear that the only people in the entire world who your grandfather doesnt care about, and [in] fact is willing to hurt, damage, and destroy are the four of us., In a January 2015 letter, Sumner asked his daughter to sign releases agreeing that she would not sue either Herzer or Sydney Hollandanother live-in girlfriendafter his death. Ms. Redstone did not wither. $35. THR has learned that Pluto, which Viacom acquired in March for $340 million, is about to launch an as-yet-unannounced streaming conservative news and opinion channel. The political affiliations of Viacom's board and senior management, how Sumner Murray Redstone (born Sumner Murray Rothstein; May 27, 1923) is an American media magnate.He is the majority owner and Chairman of the Board of the National Amusements theater chain. And Sumner himself has been completely shielded from his longtime friends and the public, who have not seen or heard from him. She has, after all, threatened to replace recalcitrant members of the CBS board with directors who support her. A period of estrangement between Shari Redstone and her combative father, Sumner Redstone, ended with a reconciliation before his death and the daughter taking over the family empire. She was the lone dissenting vote on the five-member National Amusements board of directors. Look at totals and trends, and see how candidates and committees raise and spend money. The Court ruling . The future of Viacom and its film studio, Paramount, hinge on the battle between Shari Redstone and Philippe Dauman for control of Sumner Redstones trust, (Photo credit by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) In a Los Angeles court today, a judge dismissed the lawsuit that challenged billionaire Sumner Redstone's mental capacity to make healthcare decisions. endobj Redstones handpicked lieutenant, Bob Bakish, will oversee the new ViacomCBS as chief executive. Norah O'Donnell, among other stars, held court until 2 a.m. Sumner Redstone, executive chairman of CBS and Viacom, pulled in $93.4 million this past fiscal year. He invested in programming and made acquisitions to broaden Viacoms reach. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. As a recently released, unredacted complaint in a lawsuit against Shari makes clear, Sumner Redstone never wanted his daughter to be involved in the family businesses, twice tried to buy out her stock in the family holding company, National Amusements Inc., for around $1 billion. Tyler, 34 . You can still enjoy your subscription until the end of your current billing period. Just a few years ago, Shari Redstone was on the outs of her familys far-flung media empire. Over the years, Shari Redstone would tell her tough-as-nails father that she possessed 80% of his brains, 90% of his passion and 100% of his obsessive personality. [12][13][14], In 2007, Redstone and her father feuded publicly over issues of corporate governance and the future of the cinema chain. [11] Redstone has expanded the company's international footprint and its exploration of new technologies. 32", "Redstone says he relies on his instinct", "Shari Redstone buys Russian theaters from her family firm", "Shari Redstone's Rising Star Media sold to Russian theater chain", "Shari Redstone Makes Huge Profit By Selling Russian Theaters For $190 Million", "Shari Redstone launches investment firm Advancit Capital", "Sumner Redstone Resigns as CBS Executive Chairman", "Viacom names Philippe Dauman as new board chairman, replacing Sumner Redstone", "Viacom Names Philippe Dauman Chairman Succeeding Sumner Redstone", "Succession battle engulfs Sumner Redstone's media empire", "Viacom's Board Names Dauman Chairman, Replacing Aging Redstone", "Shari Redstone Wants New CBS Directors, Renews Push for Merger With Viacom", "CBS, Viacom to reunite as media giants bulk up for streaming", "Lawsuit: Shari Redstone and National Amusements "Caused CBS to Massively Overpay for Viacom", "Former CBS shareholders can sue Shari Redstone over ViacomCBS merger", "Shari Redstone, Viacom Sue Insurers Over Merger Suit's Coverage", "The Jewish Post and Opinion, July 18, 1980, Page10", "Sumner Redstone Shows Yet Another Ex-Girlfriend to the Door", "Sumner Redstone trust shakeup: New members are allies of mogul's daughter", "Media Mogul's Scion Sees Emojis as Sign of Times | Los Angeles Business Journal", "An estranged son, a legal battle with a live-in lover, and a mogul who wanted to 'live forever': Meet the heirs to the ViacomCBS empire", "Korff continues family Rabbinic tradition", "Board of Directors - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum", Redstone Split Bears On Future Of Viacom, CBS, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shari_Redstone&oldid=1147955336, Kimberlee Korff Ostheimer, a lawyer who practiced at, Tyler Korff, a lawyer and rabbi who graduated from, This page was last edited on 3 April 2023, at 06:44. university She finally won. Do not fill this out if you are a person. The succession issue simmered in the background during periods of estrangement between father and daughter. As the merger of Viacom and CBS awaits regulatory approval, a Redstone spokesperson confirms that she quietly visited President Donald Trump in the White House recently but denies any plan to launch a conservative TV network (as does a spokesperson for Viacom). Now, the challenge will be integrating two companies that have been separate for more than a decade. Bakish and CBS acting chief, Joseph Ianniello, must fuse together two different cultures and navigate the shift to streaming services. Tensions were so high that he offered her a $1-billion buyout, and she fumed to her son in 2015: Your grandfather says I will be chair over his dead body.. Shari Redstone has spent much of this year trying to re-merge CBS and Viacom over the objections of CBS CEO Les Moonves, who has stepped down over accusations of sexual harassment. Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the Settings & Account section. . Donate Today. Sumner Redstone, who built National Amusements into a media empire, died Tuesday at 97. We need more women in leadership positions.. Redstone built his family's drive-in theater chain into a multibillion-dollar empire . At the height of the conflict when the patriarch was well into his 80s and still a Hollywood force Mr. Redstone tried to buy out his daughter and publicly stated that she was not qualified to lead National Amusements, the parent company of Viacom and CBS, which he had inherited from his father and built into a giant. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Sources familiar with the pending merger of CBS and Viacom have said that majority owner Shari Redstone is eyeing a possible channel dedicated to conservative news, a move that could mean a . Rather must have felt comfortable, not only because this is his bias but because he knew the parent company was comfortable with this kind of frontal attack on Bush, said Mr. Kincaid, whose group has tangled with CBS for years about its news and entertainment programming. CBS independent board members filed suit to strip the Redstones of their voting control. She previously wrote for the Miami Herald and the Palm Beach Post. The two-year period in which the transaction was reported. Redstone practiced corporate law, estate planning and criminal law in the Boston area before joining National Amusements. In May 2019, Ms. Redstone made an appearance at a lavish fete at the Plaza hotel thrown by CBS to court business during its annual presentation to advertisers. How strong is Disneys 1st Amendment case against Ron DeSantis? The Redstones prevailed, and Dauman, who presided over Viacom as its value plummeted, resigned. Shari Redstone at the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho, 2017. Dan Rather is obviously an important person. Mr. Salerno, who split his giving relatively evenly between the parties, donated to Mr. Gore in 1999 and contributed the maximum $2,000 to Mr. Bushs campaign this time. We follow the money. She later received her J.D. If she refused, he wrote, he would not allow her or her children to attend his funeral or in any way be involved in his burial arrangements. Redstone, the daughter of media mogul Sumner Redstone, is chairwoman of media empire ViacomCBS. Shari Redstone continues today to send fraudulent communications purporting to be sent by Sumner, a man who cannot speak, write, read, or take care of himself, according to Herzers complaint. While my daughter talks of good governance, she apparently ignores the cardinal rule of good governance that the boards of the two public companies, Viacom and CBS, should select my successor. The future leadership falls to Sumner Redstones daughter, Shari, with whom he has had on again, off again squabbles through the years. Shari Redstones appointment to lead the remerged Viacom and CBS was unexpected by almost anyone who has followed the battles within this family media business. Within a few months, she and Sumner Redstone removed Dauman and his ally from the familys investment firm, which provoked a high-stakes lawsuit. Tuesdays agreement, he said, vindicates the strategy that shes had.. In his most consequential battle, he took on his daughter, Shari E. Redstone. (Shari Redstone declined to comment, as did her attorney, Betsy Burnett, and her spokesperson, Sara Evans. 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At one point, the media reported that they were communicating by fax and were refusing to speak with each other in person. Also known as a campaign committee. The next year, the succession tussle went public when Mr. Redstone told a reporter that he wanted the CBS and Viacom boards to choose his successor. Most referred questions to a Viacom spokesman, Carl Folta. During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages. Within six weeks, Moonves resigned. When you find what you need, export results and save custom links. Talks spanned months and culminated Tuesday with the all-stock deal that the two companies believe will be completed by the end of the year. Its the story of a person who was mistreated by her father, said the source who recently noted Sumners physical condition, and has known the father and daughter for an extensive period of time. He just settled this one. Even if you wanted to sabotage the company, it would be hard to do more damage than [previous management] did.. stream A peek at this week's ForbesWomen newsletter, which every Thursday brings headlines about the world's most powerful women straight to your inbox. In an email to that donor, Redstone was described as "a 501(c)4 political organization formed specifically to influence the election in NY-03," and the donor was told that should he decide to . Washington, DC 20463, Federal Election Commission | United States of America. Redstone has been president of National Amusements Inc. since 2000 and served as executive vice president of NAI from 1994 to 2000. Ms. Redstone holds the remaining 20 percent of National Amusements through a separate trust. For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the Settings & Account section. Official websites use .gov As a condition of the September 2018 settlement, she agreed to not try to orchestrate a merger with Viacom for at least two years. Women in entertainmentfrom ViacomCBS Inc. chairwoman Shari Redstone to singer Beyonc and morecomprise 14 spots on our 2019 list of the world's 100 most powerful women. Redstone holds the remaining 20 percent of National Amusements through a separate trust. Will Shari Redstone Find A Buyer For A Combined CBS-Viacom? Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Advertisement Sumner Redstone handed a media empire to his daughter, Shari, who now controls its fate. A member of the Company Town team for two decades, James specializes in covering television, corporate media and investigative projects. A native of Wyoming, she is a graduate of the University of Colorado and Columbia University. Changes needed to be made to the Stephens lifestyle in order to make things manageable Because of [her husbands condition], and all of the different things we were dealing with, I really needed an opportunity [for change], Stephens said to me in an interview via videoconference in early December. Its awesome. Shari, daughter of ailing 94-year-old empire builder Sumner Redstone, insists that Viacom and CBS must merge, an idea that once would have held great appeal for Moonves assuming he would be in . She halted a plan to sell the storied Melrose Avenue movie studio, Paramount Pictures, and now she has corrected what she long considered a mistake her fathers separation of CBS and Viacom in 2006. Shari Redstone is board chair. The reunion of CBS and Viacom to be known as ViacomCBS "is a victory for Ms. Redstone, the leader of a family business that has led the two media giants for two decades," Lee wrote . Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. So far, Sharis latest effort to force the merger of CBS and Viacomboth of which Sumner still controls through his voting shareshas cost the Redstone family some $600 million, and CBSs other shareholders another $6.5 billion, as the price of the networks stock has sunk from around $70 a share to around $50 as investors anticipate a deal. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Shari tried once before to effect a merger between Viacom and CBS, in 2016, but that effort went nowhere. [10], Since 1999, she has been president of National Amusements, one of the top ten movie exhibitors in the United States. [28], On August 13, 2019, the Associated Press reported that Shari Redstone had become the chair of the board for the reuniting of CBS and Viacom as ViacomCBS, today known as Paramount Global. Of the companys 13 board members, eight contribute primarily to Democratic candidates and party committees. The two often clashed over executive compensation and board member selection. cookies Ad Choices. That's a market cap of $25.4 billion, less than this year's expected sales of $26 billion. CBS CEO Les Moonves was one of the 11. William D. Cohan. It must be remembered that I gave my children their stock; and it is I, with little or no contribution on their part, who built these great media companies with the help of the boards of both companies. He continued in his interview with Forbes: If she insists on trying to succeed me, theres no question the boards will do what I ask them. VIAC stock opens at about $40 today. In February 2017, Shari Redstone, the 62-year-old billionaire heiress and controlling shareholder of CBS and Viacom, with a honking Boston accent and a fondness for the bouffant blowout, was at. The changing economics have created a sense of urgency among major Hollywood studios to fortify themselves by bulking up. . CBS, under the leadership of Les Moonves, has performed well and its stock has appreciated. Before that, she was the vice-chairperson of Viacom and CBS Corporation. Met Gala 2023 Red Carpet: See All the Fashion, Outfits & Looks, Get Him Out of Here: Donald Trump Tossed NBC Reporters Phones During Tirade Aboard Campaign Plane, How to Watch the 2023 Met Gala Live Stream. analyse how our Sites are used. Shari Redstone, who has emerged as the leader of ViacomCBS, in 2016. Paramount head Shari Redstone and CEO Bob Bakish put big energy into their announcements, touting big subscriber numbers for Paramount+, and a firehose of content into streaming. Theres substantial risk to a major business operation for which they have ultimate oversight and responsibility.. (Moonves has denied the allegations.) Redstone sees an opening as the audience for TV news grows older and more conservative and Trump and some of his fans express disenchantment with ratings giant Fox News, which lost its top news anchor Friday when Shepard Smith announced his departure amid conflict with some of the networks opinion hosts. There's made-for-reality TV drama of Sumner Redstone romantic affairs to the behind-the-scenes politics of CBS and Viacom's boardrooms politics that as a consumer I realized affected all of us.. March 16, 2022. Meanwhile, the media industry was rapidly consolidating. After fighting off two of the most powerful men in Hollywood Mr Moonves and her own father . What you missed at CinemaCon 2023. 1050 First Street, NE When an unflattering 2015 Vanity Fair profile highlighted her father's declining health and influence of two of . In 2008, Mr. Redstone announced that his daughter would leave the boards of Viacom and CBS. Other nonlinear TV competitors include Breitbart News, The Daily Caller (co-founded by Tucker Carlson) and Salem Media Group, a publicly traded company that is considered the industry leader in talk radio, and Ben Shapiros Daily Wire. Redstone herself has agitated for an even bolder streaming strategy through Paramount Plus, the company's flagship streaming service, according to company insiders. By then, though, tensions were mounting. Alex Ben Block. Will Newly-Merged ViacomCBS Boldly Go After Other Media Assets? For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital, click here. Viacoms chairman and chief executive, Sumner Redstone, is a self-described liberal Democrat and a prolific donor to Democratic campaigns. But in an e-mail to her children, she wrote that she would not sign the releases against the whores who will be grieving his loss . People underestimated her, but shes proven that shes obtained a lot of her fathers characteristics.. Meg James is a senior entertainment industry writer for the Los Angeles Times. Paramount chief Shari Redstone attended alongside Neeraj Khelmani, Gayle King, Norah O'Donnell, Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Tufts University in 1975. They have not had any deliberations on this, board deliberations, and as a board are not handling the situation, which is being handled totally at the news level by CBS, he said. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. Su padre, Sumner Redstone, la haba considerado pblicamente como una 'don nadie', que contribua. Instead, he surrounded himself with younger girlfriends and business cronies. Shari Redstone is an American media executive with a diverse history in the entertainment industry and related businesses. He communicates partly through an iPad programmed with his voice with, reportedly, three responses: yes, no, and fuck you. The Redstone family investment firm, National Amusements Inc., controls nearly 80% of CBS' and Viacom's voting shares. During a low point in 2015, Ms. Redstone wrote in an email to her son that your grandfather says I will be chair over his dead body.. The merger agreement is a triumph for Redstone, who has overseen the familys controlling stakes in the two companies since her fathers declining health forced him to relinquish control. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Moonves, on the other hand, supports his handpicked successor Joseph Ianniello. [22] The CBS board announced that Les Moonves replaced Sumner Redstone as CBS Chairman. As Fox and family insiders tell it, this could just be the beginning. The two reconciled in recent years as his health declined. But some on CBS board were wary. Over a 25-year period, he poured more than $500 million into Midway. For Shari Redstone, the 65-year-old daughter of ailing 96-year-old mogul Sumner Redstone, who had chafed for a dozen years living under the . One member of the Viacom board who has attracted considerable attention in recent months is Mr. Redstones daughter and possible successor, Shari. According to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday,. [18] Redstone and her partners then sold Rising Star Media to Russian theater operator Cinema Park in 2011. Less than a quarter of the S&P 100 companies have a woman as their chair or a lead director, and that puts Shari in a notable position, said Dawn Belt, a partner and coauthor of Fenwick & Wests Gender Diversity Study. And they announced that Shari Redstone would become chairwoman of the new entity, ViacomCBS Inc., joining a small number of women overseeing a major U.S. company. This Redstone plan for a new TV service also would have a streaming component. Redstone has been president of National Amusements Inc. since 2000 and served as executive vice president of NAI from 1994 to 2000. As private citizens, board members at Viacom and others make donations to political parties and candidates all the time, he said. These committees may solicit and accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor organizations and others.
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