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. *:XgQJBm1THt#b~$)cb87cBiQ1H45 Q[tg;:n6_)0' 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.. 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. 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. Shari obtained her 20 percent interest in National Amusements through a 2002 divorce agreement with Sumners first wife and her mother, Phyllis. commentary and analysis you can trust. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. 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. 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 two sides remain far apart on price, terms and, in particular, governance issues. The high-profile trial, expected to start Monday, was postponed a day, a development that the Judge called not unusual but has nevertheless prompted buzz about a last-minute settlement. 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. This week's $12bn deal to reunite the two companies has been Ms Redstone's crowning victory. Dan Rather is obviously an important person. or The potential merger represents a thorny headache in both the Redstones personal and professional lives. Viacoms chairman and chief executive, Sumner Redstone, is a self-described liberal Democrat and a prolific donor to Democratic campaigns. We use Shari Redstone - $5,400 in Political Contributions for 2016, Campaign Finance, Money, American politics, American political campaign contributions, presidential campaign contributions . And now she is trying again, with even greater fervor. [23], On January 17, 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that Shari Redstone was pushing for CBS Corp. to merge with Viacom, with Redstone also gathering names for new board members at CBS. His battles with the church arent over, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! Javascript recommended: FEC.gov uses Javascript to provide the best possible user experience. Redstone is the daughter of Phyllis Gloria Raphael and Sumner Redstone, and the sister of Brent Redstone. xMHa$T&R+SeL b}wg-E"u.VDNC:DuE^";cT03y| URcE4`vztLUF\)s:k-iYj6|vP4*wd>,y4!7CN-lCTS3q";-E#+c> v=S79@`mvUl5`P=Gj)kP*}6 ~^/~.~a2 << /Length 5 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode >> Meanwhile, the media industry was rapidly consolidating. The two-year period in which the transaction was reported. 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. Redstone, the daughter of media mogul Sumner Redstone, is chairwoman of media empire ViacomCBS. Moonves, on the other hand, supports his handpicked successor Joseph Ianniello. 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. She also is a director of NAI. This Redstone plan for a new TV service also would have a streaming component. Other Democratic-leaning donors on the Viacom board include: two Boston attorneys, George Abrams and David Andelman; a Manhattan investor, Philippe Dauman; the chairman of Bear Stearns, Alan Greenberg; a law professor at Yeshiva University, William Schwartz, and the president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Patricia Stonesifer. 2023 The New York Sun Company, LLC. Why Shari Redstone Has Edge Over Philippe Dauman In Battle For Viacom, Judge Dismisses Competency Case Against Sumner Redstone, Herzer Files New Suit Against Shari Redstone, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Limit the Use of My Sensitive Personal Information. But by the summer of 2015, those relations had frayed. Other. Advertisements How old is Shari Redstone? The shotgun re-marriage of CBS and Viacom is proceeding apace. But it was former Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Daumans plan to sell Paramount Pictures that bonded father and daughter. Anyone can read what you share. n0%f|U9l 7?j`l7"tiNf]?uhgM Z4i[&LY_x She also pursued a degree in social work after volunteering at a trauma center for abused children. But she was here, trying to fix these media platforms.. Key Points. Learn how to enable Javascript in your browser. He called his daughter a credible candidate, while also floating the notion of buying her out. In 2015, Vanity Fair published an article on Ms. Herzer and another of Mr. Redstones late-life paramours, Sidney Holland. Talks were ongoing but collapsed when CBS management feared that she was trying to remove Moonves allies on the board. 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 . A political committee that makes only independent expenditures and does not make contributions to candidates, parties or other political committees unless they are also independent expenditure committees. On the surface, the two seemed unalike. stream The two reconciled in recent years as his health declined. . By Lisa Johnson Mandell. Shari Redstone Political Contributions in 2012. A peek at this week's ForbesWomen newsletter, which every Thursday brings headlines about the world's most powerful women straight to your inbox. 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. 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. Shari with Sumner Redstone at the LA Friendly House Luncheon in Beverly Hills, 2012. 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. He communicates partly through an iPad programmed with his voice with, reportedly, three responses: yes, no, and fuck you. Two other members of the board, Joseph Califano and William Cohen, held cabinet posts under Democratic presidents. Paramount chief Shari Redstone attended alongside Neeraj Khelmani, Gayle King, Norah O'Donnell, Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson. According to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday,. A native of Wyoming, she is a graduate of the University of Colorado and Columbia University. 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. She previously wrote for the Miami Herald and the Palm Beach Post. In a prelude to the difficulties to come, the father and daughter had a disagreement over the worth of the company behind Mortal Kombat, a video game that pits opponents against each other in anything-goes combat. Media observers wonder whether Redstone will position ViacomCBS Inc. for a sale or if she will tighten her grip. Of the companys 13 board members, eight contribute primarily to Democratic candidates and party committees. None of the members of Viacoms board consented to be interviewed for this story. She successfully facilitated the 2019 $12 billion merger deal between CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc.. Herzers lawsuit plunged National Amusements and Viacom into turmoil. Redstone plays her personal politics close to the vest but shortly after Trumps election shetoldTHR, Hes always been very good to me and a tremendous supporter of me personally.. Eleven of the 14 board members supported a proposal to issue a dividend that would dilute Shari Redstone's controlling stake in the broadcaster. The exposure to risk for Viacom, even though CBS News is just one of many things that it owns, is very substantial, he said. In both dayparts, ABC and NBC have been locked in a relatively tight battle for No. Most referred questions to a Viacom spokesman, Carl Folta. Shari E. Redstone joined the board of CBS in 2004. This time, he heavily criticized Norah O'Donnell and her interview with government whistleblower Dr. Rick . CBS independent board members filed suit to strip the Redstones of their voting control. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer. that brings together some of the most influential people in Hollywood to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the entertainment industry and to society as a whole. I know I have asked you to help me return everything to the way it was before the two women entered my life and to make sure that everything I described in the December letter to her has been undone (or is being undone). Soon thereafter, according to Herzer, Shari caused Sumners estate plan to be amended so that after his death his 80 percent interest in National Amusements would fall under the control of the seven trustees, a group she reconstituted to put herself in control of four votes, including her own, Tylers, her daughter Kimberlees, and that of an artist friend Jill Krutick. << /Length 14 0 R /N 3 /Alternate /DeviceRGB /Filter /FlateDecode >> Behind the scenes, Redstone was instrumental in refreshing the CBS board by bouncing veterans who were friends of her fathers. Everybody wants Fox News money, but nobody wants to destroy their [existing] news brand, a source says. Ad Choices. 13 0 obj She also is a director of NAI. Shari Redstone was born in Washington, D.C. in April . We support credit card, debit card and PayPal payments. It Was Business, It Was Personal: The Redstones Father-Daughter Feud, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/business/media/shari-redstone-sumner-redstone-viacomcbs.html. Donate Today. Shari insisted on dissenting, Sumner told Forbes. A rep for Kelly declined to comment. 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. By then, a new combatant had entered the fray: Brent Redstone, Shari Redstones brother, who sued their father in 2006, seeking to break up National Amusements while claiming that he had been cast aside in favor of his sister. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. The other 10 . Shari Redstone, who divides her time between Boston, Connecticut and Los Angeles, spent weeks assisting her father at his home and successfully defending the case against Herzer. Viacoms critics say Mr. Redstone, 80, who has been at the helm of Viacom for nearly two decades, set a liberal course that led to the document debacle. . It wasnt until the elder Redstones health deteriorated that she was able squeeze back into her fathers orbit. Im very sure that the chairman and CEO would not allow the board of the company to be compromised by individual political agendas.. Also known as a campaign committee. By. Redstone, the daughter of media mogul Sumner Redstone, is chairwoman of media empire ViacomCBS. 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 . As many of my most loyal readers know, I've been predicting this for years. In 1999, another board member, investor Jan Leschly, gave $350 to a former New Jersey governor, Christine Todd Whitman, for a Senate bid. convention or caucus of a political party that has authority to nominate a candidate, for the office sought by the candidate." . These committees may solicit and accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor organizations and others. No Writers Guild Deal Today, AMPTP Claims. Shari Redstone is a media executive with wide-ranging experience in the entertainment industry and related ventures. Even when she was named its president in 1999, Mr. Redstone was unequivocally the boss. Please try searching for a donor or recipient name. The media heiress, who defeated a series of rivals to win control of ViacomCBS in 2019, found herself caught up in a stunning stock reversal that almost overnight has shaved about $670 million from her personal net worth. Under the nearly $12-billion deal, CBS will absorb the smaller Viacom, which owns such brands as MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures. [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. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. 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.. Redstones handpicked lieutenant, Bob Bakish, will oversee the new ViacomCBS as chief executive. 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. 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. 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. This spring, independent members of CBS and Viacoms boards began discussing a merger. CBS first offered Viacom shareholders an exchange ratio of .55 a CBS share for each Viacom sharean offer worth around $11 billion today. [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. 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. Dec 1 (Reuters) - ViacomCBS Inc (VIAC.O) Chair Shari Redstone, who in the past has hinted at more deals to bulk up the media empire, said on Wednesday the company will focus on organic growth. The Redstones prevailed, and Dauman, who presided over Viacom as its value plummeted, resigned. The main trust owns controlling shares in National Amusements, which in turn controls about 80 percent of the voting rights in ViacomCBS, the company that resulted from a 2019 merger led by Ms. Redstone. 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. You make it possible. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used. Shari Redstone Chairman; ViacomCBS Shari E. Redstone joined the board of CBS in 2004. Sumner Redstone built his empire from a small regional chain of movie theaters. 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 . Stay informed and spot emerging risks and opportunities with independent global reporting, expert 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. Viacom asked for an exchange ratio of .68, which would value Viacom at around $14 billion. 8rdWT'eL~.u"A=9]>313X3-$e}u,gmg664$EzL*LZ_j_]Xy[?Xs N/]|msk_WfA2)oz-di2|mj|5ej8eE7[Q|IM%xf)|6\ k`. 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.
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