Redstone was born Sumner Murray Rothstein on May 27, 1923 in Boston, MA to Michael (Mickey) and Belle Rothstein. He was the older of two boys (his younger brother Edward became a banker). The boys’ father Mickey was a liquor wholesaler, a nightclub owner and the owner of one of the first drive-in movie theaters in the USA. Sumner graduated at the top of his class at the celebrated Boston Latin School before attending Harvard College, where in less than three years, he received his B.A in 1943. Upon graduation, he was recruited into an elite United States Army intelligence unit, earning two commendations before leaving for Georgetown University Law School (he would eventually transfer to Harvard Law School, from which he received an LL.B degree). Redstone spent several years working as an attorney, first for the U.S. Department of Justice, and then his own private practice, before leaving the legal world behind to help run the family’s movie theater management business. Although his brother Edward had been working for National Amusements for years, the oldest Rothstein boy was quickly given the reins.
While at National Amusements, he came to the conclusion that rather than distribution, “content is king,” prompting him to invest in a number of production companies. Those early investments consisted largely of buying and selling stock. Redstone’s purchase of CBS spin-off Viacom (through National Amusements), however, was much different. After initially investing in the company, Redstone decided it required a change in management and mounted a hostile takeover. In addition to owning Showtime, MTV and The Movie Channel networks, Viacom syndicated many shows, including many of those produced by CBS and Carsey-Werner.
Completed in 1987, the Viacom deal made Redstone a media baron. Only Rupert Murdoch had wider media holdings. Naturally, over the course of his career, Redstone received compensation commensurate with his great success, earning him a net worth of approximately eight billion dollars. Despite his vast wealth, Redstone’s philanthropic efforts never threatened to outshine his professional acumen. He made substantial donations to burn centers and other burn-related charities, a move which was surely inspired by Redstone’s near-death in a 1979 Boston hotel fire, which left him with third-degree burns over 45 percent of his body, requiring 60 hours of surgery. Redstone responded to criticisms of his recorded philanthropic efforts by pointing to his interest in keeping his donations private, including gifts to burn, AIDS and cancer-related charities (he was also a founding trustee of the American Cancer Society). He did, however, lecture frequently at universities.
After Viacom, other sometimes acrimonious acquisitions followed, including the 1993 purchase of Paramount Communications – a move preceded by a bitter fight against Barry Diller and John Malone. Already a television powerhouse, the purchase provided Redstone with a foothold in the actual movie-making business (outside of National Amusements, which continued to operate movie theaters, in addition to controlling the majority of Viacom).
Redstone’s takeover of former Viacom parent CBS, however, went much more smoothly. Completed in 2000, it further cemented his company’s place in the firmament of the entertainment industry. After the merger, Viacom owned wide swaths of the television landscape including two television networks (CBS and UPN), more than half a dozen cable outlets (among them MTV, Comedy Central and BET), and pay television networks Showtime and The Movie Channel. Radio powerhouse Infinity Broadcasting gave Viacom a sizeable chunk of that industry. Other holdings included film production (Paramount Pictures) and television production companies (Big Ticket Entertainment, King World Entertainment, Paramount Television and Spelling Entertainment), not to mention music publishing and outdoor advertising units. National Amusements’ movie theater business continued to operate as well, but outside of Viacom’s purview (as a privately held asset of the Redstone family). Redstone also made large investments in video game company Midway Games.
In 2005, however, Redstone announced that he and the Viacom board were considering splitting the recently-merged company into two divisions for increased profitability, with power shared between Leslie Moonves and Tom Freston, who served as co-Presidents and co-COOs of the larger entity. Before the year was out, the split had occurred, and soon afterwards, Redstone had stepped down as head of Viacom at the ripe old age of 83. The company did not fare well after his departure, prompting some to go so far as to suggest that Viacom become a private company.
The family business wrought some havoc on the already-troubled Redstone family. Although both of Redstone’s children owned 1/6th of the controlling shares in National Amusements, Redstone designated his daughter Shari, Vice Chairwoman of Viacom’s Board and National Amusements’ President, as the recipient of his shares. Meanwhile, son Brent had no access to his share in the business, which resided in a non-income-bearing trust. Like many wealthy families run amuck, Brent filed lawsuits claiming that Shari was being favored and that he deserved access to his own shares.