37 Facts About Sumner Redstone

Sumner Murray Redstone was an American billionaire businessman and media magnate.

Sumner Redstone was the founder and chairman of the second incarnation of Viacom, chairman of CBS Corporation, and the majority owner and chairman of the National Amusements theater chain.

Until his death, Redstone was a majority voting shareholder of the media conglomerate ViacomCBS, the parent company of the Paramount Pictures film studio, the CBS television network, and various cable networks.

Sumner Redstone was formerly the executive chairman of both CBS and Viacom.

In February 2016, at age 92, Sumner Redstone resigned both chairmanships following a court-ordered examination by a geriatric psychiatrist.

Sumner Redstone was ultimately succeeded by Les Moonves at CBS and Philippe Dauman at Viacom.

Sumner Redstone was a second-generation Bostonian; his father Michael was born in Boston in 1902 to Galician Jewish parents originally from Kozova, a shtetl in Austro-Hungarian land now in Ukraine.

Sumner Redstone's mother Bella was an American-born child of Jewish immigrants; her parents emigrated to the US from Kyiv early in the 20th century.

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.

Sumner Redstone attended the Boston Latin School, from which he graduated in 1940 first in his class, and was accepted to Harvard College on scholarship.

In 1943, Reischauer left Harvard to establish a United States Army Signal Corps training program at Arlington Hall for Japanese translators and cryptanalysts, positions in need during World War II; Sumner Redstone would be among Reischauer's students following the professor to Arlington Hall.

Sumner Redstone worked with a team at the Signals Intelligence Service that decoded Japanese messages.

The Sumner Redstone family re-incorporated Northeast Theatre Corporation and their other businesses as National Amusements in 1959 to access more money to finance expansion; Sumner Redstone would invest nearly $18,000 in stock and be named vice president.

In 1964, Sumner Redstone was elected president of the Theater Owners of America, which would merge with a rival group to form the National Association of Theatre Owners, for which Sumner Redstone became chairman in 1965.

Sumner Redstone had 93 theater screens when Redstone took office; within 10 years, National Amusements had nearly 250 screens.

Sumner Redstone replaced the team of Jonathan Dolgen and Sherry Lansing in 2004.

Sumner Redstone oversaw the creation or revitalization of several major franchises, including Transformers, Star Trek and Paranormal Activity.

Sumner Redstone 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.

Sumner 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.

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.

Sumner Redstone's trusts made it clear that his daughter, Shari Sumner Redstone, was set to assume his role upon his death.

However, a November 22,2006, New York Times article indicated that Sumner Redstone was reconsidering his daughter's role.

On March 1,2010, Sumner Redstone publicly confirmed that all of his stock would be left for his five grandchildren.

Sumner Redstone made arrangements to step down as CEO of Viacom in 2006.

On September 5,2006, Sumner Redstone removed Freston as president and CEO of Viacom and replaced him with director and former Viacom counsel Philippe Dauman.

In February 2016, at age 92, after a court-ordered examination by a geriatric psychiatrist whose findings were not publicly disclosed, Sumner Redstone relinquished the chairmanship of CBS to Moonves and the chairmanship of Viacom to Dauman.

In May 2016, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Cowan dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Sumner Redstone was mentally incompetent.

At the time of his death, Sumner Redstone owned over seventy percent of the voting interest of ViacomCBS.

Sumner Redstone sold his holdings of Midway Games, of over 89 percent, in December 2008.

Succession creator Jesse Armstrong has stated that Sumner Redstone's biography A Passion to Win was an influence in creating the series.

Sumner Redstone filed for divorce from Fortunato on October 17,2008.

Sumner Redstone owned a house in the Beverly Park area of Los Angeles, which he purchased in 2002 for $14.5 million.

Sumner Redstone discussed the story of surviving the fire as a reflection of his strong determination and will to live.

In July 2010, Sumner Redstone was caught on tape trying to find the source of an embarrassing leak within MTV.

Sumner Redstone offered money and protection to a journalist if he would give up his source.

Sumner Redstone had been pushing MTV management to give more airtime to the band the Electric Barbarellas.

The 87-year-old Sumner Redstone told the reporter he would be "well rewarded and well protected" if he would reveal the source.