Honestly, the guy was a walking contradiction. Sumner Redstone, the long-time Viacom CEO and the man who basically willed a media empire into existence, used to tell anyone who would listen that he was never going to die. He meant it. For a while, the world actually believed him.
He didn't just run a company; he lived for the fight. Most people know the catchphrase "Content is King," but they don't realize Redstone didn't just say it—he weaponized it. He was a Harvard-trained lawyer and a World War II codebreaker who turned his dad's drive-in movie theaters into a $40 billion global behemoth. But toward the end, the story stopped being about box office numbers and started looking more like a tragic, high-stakes soap opera.
How the Sumner Redstone Empire Actually Started
You have to look back at 1979 to understand why the guy was so obsessed with winning. Redstone was trapped in a fire at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston. He literally hung out of a third-story window by his fingertips while his legs burned. The doctors said he’d never walk again.
He didn't listen.
He survived, underwent 30 hours of surgery, and then went on a decades-long tear that changed everything you watch on TV. In 1987, at an age when most people are eyeing a Florida retirement, he launched a hostile takeover of Viacom. He was 64. He didn't just want a seat at the table; he wanted the whole table, the chairs, and the building they were sitting in.
Through his family holding company, National Amusements, he eventually controlled:
- Paramount Pictures (home to Titanic and Forrest Gump)
- MTV (which he saved from being sold off when bankers thought it was a fad)
- Nickelodeon
- CBS
- Showtime
He was ruthless. He fired Tom Cruise. He fought his own son, Brent, in court. He even publicly slandered his daughter, Shari Redstone, claiming she didn't have the "business judgment" to succeed him. It was messy, public, and honestly, a little bit sad.
The Viacom CEO and the "Living Ghost" Years
By 2015, things got weird. The man who once controlled the cultural zeitgeist was living in a Beverly Hills mansion, shielded from the world by a revolving door of much younger companions—specifically Sydney Holland and Manuela Herzer.
There were lawsuits. Lots of them.
Herzer eventually filed a suit claiming Redstone was a "living ghost." She described a man who couldn't speak clearly, who was obsessed with steak and sex, and who was being manipulated. This wasn't just celebrity gossip; it was a massive corporate crisis. If the Viacom CEO and chairman wasn't mentally there, who was actually running the show?
The battle for control became a three-way war between his companions, his daughter Shari, and his hand-picked executives like Philippe Dauman and Les Moonves. Shari eventually won, but it took years of litigation and a court-ordered psychiatric exam that finally forced her father to resign his chairmanships in 2016.
Why "Content is King" Still Matters
Redstone’s legacy isn't just the lawsuits. It's the fact that he saw the future of the "multiplex"—a term he actually coined. He realized that owning the pipes (the theaters or cable lines) was useless unless you owned the water (the movies and shows).
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He bet big on MTV when everyone else was ready to pull the plug. He understood that brand loyalty among teenagers was worth more than gold. Even when the industry shifted toward streaming, his core philosophy held up. Without the IP, you have nothing.
What Really Happened with the CBS/Viacom Split?
In 2006, Redstone made a move that confused everyone: he split Viacom and CBS into two separate companies. He thought it would unlock value. It didn't.
For over a decade, the two halves of his empire were at odds. It wasn't until 2019—just a year before he passed away at age 97—that the companies finally re-merged to become ViacomCBS (now Paramount Global). Shari Redstone orchestrated the whole thing, effectively finishing the work her father had started, even though he had spent years trying to keep her out of the driver's seat.
Actionable Insights from the Redstone Era
If you're looking at the life of the Viacom CEO for business lessons, here's the reality:
- Ownership is everything. Redstone stayed in power because he controlled the voting shares. In any business venture, understand the difference between equity and control.
- IP is the ultimate leverage. Whether you’re a creator or a CEO, owning the "content" gives you the power to survive platform shifts.
- Succession planning isn't optional. The chaos of Redstone’s final years cost shareholders billions in lost value and legal fees. Don't wait until a crisis to decide who holds the keys.
- The "Never Die" mindset is a double-edged sword. That tenacity got him through a hotel fire, but it also nearly burned down his company when he refused to let go.
Sumner Redstone died in August 2020. He didn't live forever, but the media landscape he built—the one where Paramount and MTV still dominate conversations—certainly looks like it might.
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To understand how the current media wars are playing out, you can look into the current state of Paramount Global and how they are navigating the transition from cable to streaming. Studying the 2019 merger details provides a clear roadmap of how the Redstone family finally consolidated their power for the modern era.