Redstone, as board chair, joins an elite group of women. Ms. Redstone holds the remaining 20 percent of National Amusements through a separate trust. In 1999, another board member, investor Jan Leschly, gave $350 to a former New Jersey governor, Christine Todd Whitman, for a Senate bid. The structure of the empire built by Mr. Redstone is complex but Ms. Redstone is at the top. When an unflattering 2015 Vanity Fair profile highlighted her father's declining health and influence of two of . The changing economics have created a sense of urgency among major Hollywood studios to fortify themselves by bulking up. offers FT membership to read for free. She has, after all, threatened to replace recalcitrant members of the CBS board with directors who support her. [20] She was also a co-chairman of MovieTickets.com (before being sold to Fandango Media in 2017),[21] Inc. and is a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO). Her grandfather was Michael Redstone, who was the original founder of National Amusements, the parent company that now owns the majority of the Redstone media empire. She currently serves as the non-executive chairwoman of Paramount Global (formerly known as ViacomCBS) and president of National Amusements, and is a former vice-chairman of CBS Corporation and Viacom. 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. Find elections. The ups and downs were complicated by his illness and his tabloid-fodder private life. Also known as a campaign committee. That girlfriend, Sydney Holland, left in September 2015. Ms. Redstone did not wither. Media observers wonder whether Redstone will position ViacomCBS Inc. for a sale or if she will tighten her grip. Most of the business world agrees with Sumner Redstone that the companies make more sense apart than togetherand that Viacom will be a drag on CBS. As a condition of the September 2018 settlement, she agreed to not try to orchestrate a merger with Viacom for at least two years. May 20, 2019. She's now ready to close . Behind the scenes, Redstone was instrumental in refreshing the CBS board by bouncing veterans who were friends of her fathers. A political committee authorized by a candidate to accept contributions or make expenditures on behalf of that candidate. 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 . Through National Amusements, Redstone and her family are majority owners of CBS, Comedy Central, BET, Showtime Networks . Redstone has been president of National Amusements Inc. since 2000 and served as executive vice president of NAI from 1994 to 2000. In both dayparts, ABC and NBC have been locked in a relatively tight battle for No. 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. 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. Shari Redstone tried to nudge CBS to merge with Viacom, but CBS then-leader, Leslie Moonves, was worried that Viacom, which was grappling with a falling stock price and an exodus of viewers, would become a drag on CBS. Beneath the surface, they had a lot in common. Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. Brandon, 36, is a real-estate developer. Her father, Sumner Redstone, once dismissed her publicly as a lightweight who contributed little to the business. degree in 1978 and her LL.M. 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. Despite their political differences, employees at National Amusements seem to be happy. Sumner Redstone, who built National Amusements into a media empire, died Tuesday at 97. He contributed $2,000 to Mr. Kerry and has given nearly $30,000 to Democratic groups and candidates in the past six years. When you find what you need, export results and save custom links. Mr. Redstones death has bolstered his daughters influence over National Amusements. endobj *:XgQJBm1THt#b~$)cb87cBiQ1H45 Q[tg;:n6_)0' Shari Redstone is a media executive with wide-ranging experience in the entertainment industry and related ventures. Shari insisted on dissenting, Sumner told Forbes. She also pursued a degree in social work after volunteering at a trauma center for abused children. Sumner and Shari Redstone have had an especially troubled relationship, in part due to Sumners desires to keep her away from his personal and business affairs.. Shari Redstone is board chair. 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. Shari Redstone's scorching rise to become the family's second media billionaire has come to crashing halt. She was the lead reporter for The Times coverage of the deadly Rust shooting on a New Mexico film set in 2021, work recognized by the Pulitzer Prize board as a finalist in breaking news. March 16, 2022. A source says the idea for that network was in the works before the Pluto acquisition. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? Those were largely symbolic moves, since his stake in the companies gave him firm command. He refers to himself a "liberal Democrat . She declined the role of non-executive chairman of both CBS and Viacom. Will Newly-Merged ViacomCBS Boldly Go After Other Media Assets? Fox News mints money for owner Fox Corp. and the Murdoch family, estimated at north of $1 billion in profit annually. 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. Herzers lawsuit plunged National Amusements and Viacom into turmoil. Advertisements How old is Shari Redstone? Learn how to enable Javascript in your browser. . They were hoping that would please Wall Street, but instead the stock dropped sharply. She successfully facilitated the 2019 $12 billion merger deal between CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. She is the first woman to have such a large stake of a U.S. media business, controlling a $30 billion media empire. All Rights Reserved. But her path to power, like most things involving the Redstone family, was contentious. Please switch to another browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for a better experience. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Musk said hed never settle an unjust legal case against him. [23], On January 17, 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that Shari Redstone was pushing for CBS Corp. to merge with Viacom, with Redstone also gathering names for new board members at CBS. Other. But on Tuesday the boards of CBS and Viacom agreed to reunite the two Redstone-controlled companies that were torn apart 13 years ago. Redstone has been president of National Amusements Inc. since 2000 and served as executive vice president of NAI from 1994 to 2000. Even if you wanted to sabotage the company, it would be hard to do more damage than [previous management] did.. Over a 25-year period, he poured more than $500 million into Midway. The future leadership falls to Sumner Redstones daughter, Shari, with whom he has had on again, off again squabbles through the years. Redstone is the daughter of Phyllis Gloria Raphael and Sumner Redstone, and the sister of Brent Redstone. President Trump yet again berated 60 Minutes for its coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. 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. 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). People underestimated her, but shes proven that shes obtained a lot of her fathers characteristics.. There's even a 24 cents-per . Wrote Herzer in her complaint, Sumner soon began making clear through public statements that he did not want Shari to exert influence over Viacom or CBS or to replace him as the head of Viacom or CBS. In February 2007, Sumner wrote the trustees of one of his trusts that Shari does not have the requisite business judgment and abilities to serve as chairman of the three companies: National Amusements, Viacom, or CBS. The price to earnings ratio is 7. We support credit card, debit card and PayPal payments. The two often clashed over executive compensation and board member selection. Shari Redstone is an American media executive with a diverse history in the entertainment industry and related businesses. This week's $12bn deal to reunite the two companies has been Ms Redstone's crowning victory. Shari Redstone Political Contributions in 2016. You can still enjoy your subscription until the end of your current billing period. [12][13][14], In 2007, Redstone and her father feuded publicly over issues of corporate governance and the future of the cinema chain. 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 . . Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter. He gave the maximum $2,000 to Mr. Kerry's presidential campaign and supported Vice President Gore's 2000 presidential bid as well. He called his daughter a credible candidate, while also floating the notion of buying her out. Daring to challenge the bigwigs in front of him and their business model, including Shari Redstone and several of his Paramount Global bosses, the veteran stand-up comic gave the media some advice . Fox's best efforts to keep the 92-year-old media moguland his son Lachlan off the stand appear to be faltering, with the judge saying he wouldn't stand in the way of Dominion subpoenaing the Murdochs. Forty years ago, you wouldnt be seeing people taking that kind of bet on a woman.. Instead, she will be integrally involved in steering the ship as it tries to compete with much larger media and technology companies. Official websites use .gov Shari E. Redstone joined the board of CBS in 2004. Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity are expected to testify. university If youd like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. Redstone, a lawyer by training, repeatedly declined to talk about many of the battles granular details, including her dealings with Les Moonves, with whom CBS is currently involved in arbitration. 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. Redstone holds the remaining 20 percent of National Amusements through a separate trust. . 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, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. [11] Redstone has expanded the company's international footprint and its exploration of new technologies. We follow the money. [16], In 2010, Redstone and her partners purchased the theaters that they had built, and formed Rising Star Media,[17] of which she was chairman, and turned it into the country's top-grossing cinema chain. In this particular case, because of the personalities involved and the issue, its like the elephant in the tent, he said. $35. Then he gave up his board seats. A peek at this week's ForbesWomen newsletter, which every Thursday brings headlines about the world's most powerful women straight to your inbox. The investor community still seems to think that the right move could be to just . Sumner Redstone died Tuesday at age 97, National Amusements said in a statement Wednesday. Shari Redstone fought to ensure she would succeed her father, Sumner Redstone, atop the family's media empire. All rights reserved. The other 10 . Days before trial is set to begin, Dominion has been granted permission to conduct additional depositions. Why did Dan Rather think he could get away with this or stonewall it? Judge Sanctions Fox News for Withholding Evidence in Dominion Defamation Suit. Mr. Redstone, who died on Tuesday at 97, was an old-school, expletive-spraying mogul from a time when bosses asserted their power by screaming in the workplace. [21], On February 3, 2016, her father resigned as CBS executive chairman after questions arose about his mental competency. 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. Only 7% of the largest U.S. companies in Standard & Poors top index have a woman as a board chair, according to Fenwick & West, a Mountain View, Calif., law firm. While the aging lion took his meals through a feeding tube in his Beverly Park mansion, Ms. Redstone battled Manuela Herzer, his former lover and live-in caretaker, for control of his daily care. And then, on October 12, 2015, with Sharis help, Sumner evicted Herzer from his house, which the latter described as a critical step in [Sharis and Tylers] larger conspiracy to take control of Sumners media empire. In an e-mail days later to Tyler, Shari explained the true underlying purpose for this conspiracy, according to Herzer: to undue [sic] all of the legal documents, letters and affidavits that he done against me.. No Writers Guild Deal Today, AMPTP Claims. ), Layoffs hit Amazon Studios and Prime Video, with about 100 jobs cut, New Netflix data shows diversity gains, but does not factor recent job cuts, John King exits CNNs Inside Politics for new role. In the last three years, she has proved herself as a worthy successor to her 96-year-old father, known for his stubborn streak and ability to outlast opponents. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. In his most consequential battle, he took on his daughter, Shari E. Redstone. In 2020, Redstone was named on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world,[8] and in 2022, to Forbes' list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.[9]. For many years, she stayed away from National Amusements, a company that started as a string of drive-in theaters. [1], As of January 2018, Redstone is a member of the board of directors at Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the board of trustees at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. A former Verizon executive who is on Viacoms board, Frederic Salerno of Rye, could offer some solace to supporters of President Bush looking for a friendly face at Viacom. [7] Through National Amusements, Redstone and her family are majority owners of CBS, Comedy Central, BET, Showtime Networks, Nickelodeon, MTV and the film studio Paramount Pictures. -. Name & Location: Employer/Occupation: Dollar Amount: Date: Primary/ General: Contibuted To: REDSTONE, SHARI . Shari has been pretty adamant about this combination, said Daniel A. Lyons, a professor at Boston College Law School. Things got messier when Mr. Redstone took Ms. Herzer and Ms. Holland to court, accusing them of elder abuse, and the two women countered by suing Ms. Redstone, claiming she had turned her father against them. As many of my most loyal readers know, I've been predicting this for years. [24], On February 4, 2016, against Shari Redstone's desires,[25][26][27] Viacom's board of directors named Philippe Dauman, already the CEO and president, the chairman, replacing Sumner Redstone. 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. But she was here, trying to fix these media platforms.. The media heiress, who defeated a series of rivals to win control of ViacomCBS in. For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the Settings & Account section. Sumner subsequently wrote one of his attorneys, Recent dealings with my daughter, Shari, have caused me to believe even more strongly that she does not have the requisite business judgment and abilities to serve as Chair of Viacom or CBS. Sumners two efforts to buy his daughters 20 percent stake in National Amusements, which she rejected, were, according to Herzers complaint, designed to permanently remove her from his business affairs and to prevent her from reversing his documented intentions that his media empire not fall into her hands after his death., Shari seemed to understand the extent of her fathers desire to keep her away from Viacom and CBS. She was the lone dissenting vote on the five-member National Amusements board of directors. 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 . Sumner owned 80 percent of National Amusements, the family's holding company that controls around 80 percent of the voting stock in both of the aforementioned media behemoths, and Shari owned the. 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. Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day. He gave the maximum $2,000 to Mr. Kerrys presidential campaign and supported Vice President Gores 2000 presidential bid as well. 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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 . She successfully facilitated the 2019 $12 billion merger deal between CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc.. Do not fill this out if you are a person. The Redstone family investment firm, National Amusements Inc., controls nearly 80% of CBS and Viacoms voting shares. ViacomCBS chairman, Shari Redstone, is now betting she can super-size the flagging brand by leveraging the decades-old Star Trek, along with other fan-favorite franchises, as the cornerstone of a service recrafted and renamed Paramount+. Shari Redstone, Sumner's daughter who was estranged from her father for much of his life but reconciled with him in his final years, effectively took over his empire in 2016 after a long,. Shari obtained her 20 percent interest in National Amusements through a 2002 divorce agreement with Sumners first wife and her mother, Phyllis. Shari Redstone faced down industry doubts and her father's public statements that he did not see her as capable of taking over the empire. Under the nearly $12-billion deal, CBS will absorb the smaller Viacom, which owns such brands as MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures. Shari Ellin Redstone (born April 14, 1954) is an American media executive. According to a court filing from Sumners former girlfriend Manuela Herzer, Brent Redstone has not spoken to his father since Sumner bought out his stake in National Amusements in 2006 for $250 million. Name & Location: Employer/Occupation: Dollar Amount: Date: Primary/ General: Contibuted To: REDSTONE, SHARI E . Everybody wants Fox News money, but nobody wants to destroy their [existing] news brand, a source says. CBS trails far enough behind to be a relative afterthought. If lower growth and sticky inflation hang around, ways to grow your portfolio or at least stretch it become even more important. Shari Redstone has three children: Kimberlee, Brandon, and Tyler. Over the years, Shari Redstone would tell her tough-as-nails father that. She has gotten it to the point where the bid and the ask spread is down to around $3 billion. Talks were ongoing but collapsed when CBS management feared that she was trying to remove Moonves allies on the board. Now, the challenge will be integrating two companies that have been separate for more than a decade. A receiving line of network executives and on-air stars lined up to greet her as trays of mini cheeseburgers and pinot noir circulated. Shari Redstone was born in Washington, D.C. in April . Herzer is seeking $100 million in compensatory damages as well as treble and punitive damages under RICO personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to He overhauled the management of the moribund Paramount and tossed out senior TV executives. You look at Sumner Redstones political contributions, said Cliff Kincaid of the conservative press watchdog group Accuracy in Media. Judge Joseph Slights had ruled in February that shareholders could pursue their claims, saying doubts about the fairness of the merger process are reasonable. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. I am really excited to see these two great companies come together so that they can realize the incredible power of their combined assets, Redstone said in a statement Tuesday. - Age Before she joined the family business, Ms. Redstone went to law school at Boston University, got married, raised three children, baked cookies and worked as a criminal defense lawyer at a small Boston firm. Father and daughter also joined forces to fight the Viacom board, which challenged Mr. Redstones mental competency in court in 2016. !CF`Bb3uwp#9 e_JVk|3$dN fd7)u=tncQT_v"`UguwE)U^/HICGjK>0pawBW=suLH.j}J,5l#e96 ^0a(B:@/L*0519P2a~,uV(g:`GaHv1 ^'_B^J ^FQ'?p./{3HJj$pLV.OH!Cp(P;SS@' t],;4z`V ?DNtx_%~,S)-p^pPG:WM1m8ZY:mbf@A.cW$b.04+QkJoi#iY)+6Ak"p94[f?OAbg(K{ -fMpbSf0;IS]&! You can only have so many alphas in one room, she said. stream The merger will reunite the companies Sumner Redstone broke apart in 2006 and create a company with more than $28 billion in revenue to better compete with the entertainment world's behemoths. Meanwhile, the media industry was rapidly consolidating. [29], In May 2020, she was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the Bucks County Retirement Fund and the International Union of Operating Engineers, over the perceived "destruction of value" caused by the CBS and Viacom merger. She noted that Hugh Hefner had a long working relationship with his daughter, Christie Hefner, who was chief executive of Playboy Enterprises for 20 years; and that Abigail Johnson took over Fidelity Investments in 2014, after her father, Edward Johnson III, ran the business for nearly four decades. Dan Rather is obviously an important person. 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. 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. She sits on the local advisory board and executive committee for BUILD, a nonprofit organization that uses entrepreneurship to propel low income youth through high school and into college. Dana Bash will succeed him, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts calls Jeff Shell departure a tough moment. Todd Williamson/Invision, via Associated Press. Experts in corporate governance say the directors of CBSs parent company, Viacom, are obliged to assume some role in resolving the fiasco over CBS Newss use of what appear to be fake documents about President Bushs military record. According to insiders, Redstone could rebrand one of the existing Viacom channels and presumably would insulate CBS News from the new offering. n0%f|U9l 7?j`l7"tiNf]?uhgM Z4i[&LY_x New CNN Show Won't Be Political, Hosts . His voting stock in the company an 80 percent share will transfer to a seven-member trust that includes Ms. Redstone and her son, Tyler Korff, along with Jill Krutick, a longtime family friend, and four lawyers with ties to the Redstones. 1050 First Street, NE Explore current and historic federal campaign finance data on the new fec.gov. Redstones handpicked lieutenant, Bob Bakish, will oversee the new ViacomCBS as chief executive. Mr. Cohen, the former Republican senator from Maine and secretary of defense under President Clinton, has made modest donations to a few GOP candidates. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer. Does the fate of a potential $14 billion Wall Street merger all come down to Shari Redstones feud with her father? The company also boasts this summers top cable series, Yellowstone., Shari Redstone could have taken her wealth and gone on her merry way, investing in Facebook or elsewhere, without worrying about the destruction of these iconic enterprises, Sonnenfeld said. In the past six years, Mr. Redstone has given $50,000 to Democratic campaigns and party committees, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. Key Points. [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. Shari Redstone is a well-known American media executive who comes from a Redstone family that has a huge stake in the media industry in America. While Fox News dominates in ratings and distribution, the conservative landscape includes One America News Network (which received praise from Trump on Twitter on Thursday) along with Newsmax TV and Glenn Becks Blaze Media, both of which are on Dish Network. 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. In a December 2015 letter purported to have been sent by Sumner, according to Herzers filing, Sumner wrote that it was now his intention that Shari succeed him as non-executive chairman of both CBS and Viacom after my death. A month later, another Sumner missive to Shari surfaced.