name	Viacom Inc.
logo
type	Public
traded as	''S&P; 500 Component''
predecessor	Viacom (1971–2005)Gulf+Western
foundation	(Original Viacom founding) (current incarnation, as a result of the CBS/Viacom split)
location city	One Astor Plaza, Manhattan, New York City, New York
location country	United States
area served	Worldwide
key people	Sumner M. Redstone(Executive Chairman) Philippe P. Dauman(President & CEO)
industry	Mass media
products	Television, radio, publishing, movies, and Internet
revenue	US$ 14.914 billion (2011)}}

| operating_income = US$ 3.623 billion (2011) | net_income = US$ 2.136 billion (2011) | aum = | assets = US$ 22.801 billion (2011) | equity = US$ 8.644 billion (2011) | owner = | num_employees = 10,580 (2011) | parent = National Amusements (~80%) | divisions = MTV Networks BET Networks Paramount Pictures Corporation ''Full list of assets here'' | subsid = Viacom 18 (50% in a joint venture with Network 18) | homepage = | footnotes = | intl = yes }}

Viacom Inc. (, ), short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American global mass media company with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television. As of 2010, it is the world's fourth-largest media conglomerate, behind The Walt Disney Company, Time Warner and News Corporation. Viacom is owned in majority by National Amusements, Inc., a privately owned theater company based in Dedham, Massachusetts, USA. National Amusement holds another controlling stake in CBS Corporation.

The current Viacom was created on December 31, 2005 as a spinoff from CBS Corporation, which changed its name from Viacom to CBS at the same time. CBS, not Viacom, retains control of the over-the-air broadcasting, TV production, outdoor advertising, subscription pay television (Showtime) and publishing assets (Simon & Schuster) formerly owned by the larger company. However, Sumner Redstone through National Amusements, retains majority control of Viacom. Predecessor firms of Viacom include Gulf+Western, which later became Paramount Communications Inc., and Westinghouse Electric Corporation.

Comprising BET Networks, MTV Networks, and Paramount Pictures, Viacom connects with audiences through television, motion pictures, mobile platforms and online in more than 160 countries and territories. Viacom operates approximately 170 media networks reaching more than 600 million global subscribers and more than 500 branded digital media properties.

History[link]

Early years[link]

In March 2005, the prior Viacom announced plans of looking into splitting the company into two publicly traded companies. The company was not only dealing with a stagnating stock price, but also the rivalry between Leslie Moonves and Tom Freston, longtime heads of MTV Networks. In addition, the company was facing issues after MTV was banned from producing any more Super Bowl halftime shows after the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy in 2004.

After the departure of Mel Karmazin in 2004, Sumner Redstone, who served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, decided to split the offices of President and Chief Operating Officer between Moonves and Freston. Redstone was set to retire in the near future, and a split was seen as a creative solution to the matter of replacing him. It was also intended to provide alternative investments that would be more appealing to different investors – one a high cash flow, lower growth company that could afford to pay a substantial dividend and the other a growing company that would have greater investment opportunities and therefore would not be expected to pay a dividend.

A new company, the present Viacom, was created and was headed by Freston. It comprises BET Networks, MTV Networks, and Paramount Pictures Corporation.

2005[link]

In June, Viacom announced its purchase of Neopets, a virtual pet website, along with GameTrailers, GoCityKids, and IFILM. That December, Paramount announced it would acquire DreamWorks. All indications are that the whole of DreamWorks—both live-comedy film and TV studios, albeit not the DreamWorks archive—which was sold to a group led by George Soros in March 2006 (nor the animated unit, which was not part of the deal) will remain owned by Viacom, even though CBS acquired Paramount's own TV studio.

2006[link]

On February 1, Paramount completed its long-awaited acquisition of DreamWorks. On April 24, Viacom obtained Xfire. In August, just hours before announcing its most recent quarterly earnings, Viacom announced that it had acquired Atom Entertainment for $200 million. In September, Viacom acquired game developer Harmonix for $175 million.

2007[link]

In February, Viacom ordered leaked copyrighted video clips be taken off the videosharing service YouTube for copyright reasons. On February 21, Viacom publicly announced they would be offering free online access to their own material through Silicon Valley's distributor Joost thanks to a thorough content licensing deal.

On May 21, Viacom entered into a 50–50 joint venture with Indian media company Global Broadcast News to form Viacom 18 which will house Viacom's existing channels in India: MTV, VH1 and Nick as well as Network 18's Bollywood movie business. All future Viacom content for India and new ventures such as a Hindi entertainment channel and a Hindi movie channel would be housed in this joint venture.

On November 8, Viacom announced that MTV Tempo would be sold to founder and Viacom Deputy General Council Frederick Morton, Jr., becoming Tempo Networks.

On December 19, Viacom signed a five year, $500 million contract with Microsoft that included content sharing and advertisement. The deal allowed Microsoft to license many shows from Viacom owned cable television and film studios for use on Xbox Live and MSN. The deal also made Viacom a preferred publisher partner for casual game development and distribution through MSN and Windows. On the advertisement side of the deal, Microsoft's Atlas ad-serving division became the exclusive provider of previously unsold advertising inventory on Viacom owned web sites. Also, Microsoft purchased a large amount of advertising on Viacom owned broadcasts and online networks. Finally, Microsoft will also collaborate on promotions and sponsorships for MTV and BET award shows, two Viacom owned cable networks.

2008[link]

On December 4, three weeks before Christmas, Viacom announced layoffs of 850 personnel, or 7% of their workforce. At the end of the year, Time Warner Cable (along with partner Bright House Networks) and Viacom's MTV Networks could not come to terms for the renewal of any Viacom channel beyond the end of year. Time Warner Cable's operations include New York City and Los Angeles, with Bright House including the Tampa Bay and Orlando markets, both top-20 markets. This blackout was narrowly avoided when a zero-hour deal was reached shortly after 12 Midnight ET on January 1, 2009.

2009[link]

On December 7, Viacom sold its stake in MTV Brasil for the Grupo Abril along with rights to the brand. The deal was not announced.

2010s[link]

2010[link]

On May 5, 2010, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' revealed that Viacom's Comedy Central "is developing a whole animated series around Jesus Christ" who, according to the network, wants to escape the shadow of his "powerful but apathetic father.".

2011[link]

In February 2011, Hulu and Viacom announced the return of ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' and ''The Colbert Report'' to Hulu, along with shows from the Viacom library. Nickelodeon's shows are not part of this deal.

Also that month, Viacom invested in the Rainbow Group, an Italian children's animated and consumer products company.

Later, in October 2011, Viacom purchased a majority stake in Bellator Fighting Championships. Spike TV plans to air Bellator in 2013, after the rights to the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) library ends in 2012.

On December 1, the company stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange after 40 years of continuous trading and began listing its securities on NASDAQ instead. The company cited listing fees as the main reason why. They also added the switch is to be voluntary. The stock ticker symbols are the same as that used while the company was on the NYSE.

Copyright complaints against YouTube[link]

In February 2007, Viacom sent upwards of 100,000 DMCA takedown notices to the video-sharing site YouTube. Of the 100,000 notices, approximately 60–70 non-infringing videos were removed under the auspices of copyright infringement.

On March 13, 2007, Viacom filed a US$1 billion legal claim (Viacom International Inc. v. YouTube, Inc.) against Google and YouTube alleging massive copyright infringement, alleging that users frequently uploaded copyrighted material to YouTube—enough to cause a hit in revenue for Viacom and a gain in advertisement revenue for YouTube. The complaint contended that almost 160,000 unauthorized clips of Viacom’s programming were made available on YouTube and that these clips had collectively been viewed more than 1.5 billion times.

In July 2008, the case generated controversy when District Judge Louis Stanton ruled that YouTube was required to hand over data detailing the viewing habits of every user who had ever watched videos on the site. Judge Stanton rejected Viacom's request for YouTube to hand over the source code of its search engine system, saying that the code was a trade secret. Google and Viacom later agreed to allow Google to anonymize all the data before handing it over to Viacom.

On June 23, 2010, Judge Stanton ruled in Google's favor in a motion for summary judgment, holding that Google was protected by provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, notwithstanding evidence of intentional copyright infringement. Viacom announced its intention to appeal the ruling.

Viacom International[link]

As with the old Viacom, the current company owns Viacom International, which is the formal owner of copyrights associated with Viacom's corporate website and its cable networks. This division now owns the rights to a majority of Elvis Presley films made for Paramount Pictures, such as ''Blue Hawaii'' and ''King Creole''.

It also continues to focus on its own in-house productions made for its various networks (MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, etc.) – these programs include ''Dora the Explorer'', ''Pinky Dinky Doo'', ''Invader Zim'', ''The Hills'', ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''The Fairly OddParents'', ''Behind the Music'', ''Big Time Rush'' and ''iCarly'' Plus ''Victorious''.

Corporate governance[link]

The previous board of directors of Viacom were George S. Abrams, David Andelman, Joseph Califano, Jr., William Cohen, Philippe Dauman, Alan C. Greenberg, Charles Phillips, Shari Redstone, Sumner Redstone, Frederic Salerno, William Schwartz, and Robert D. Walter.

Following the Viacom/CBS split, the Viacom board consisted of George S. Abrams, Philippe Dauman, Thomas E. Dooley, Ellen V. Futter, Robert Kraft, Alan Greenberg, Charles Phillips, Sumner Redstone (Chairman), Shari Redstone (non-executive Vice-Chair), Frederic Salerno, and William Schwartz. As of 2010, the Board consists of George Abrams, Philippe Dauman, Thomas E. Dooley, Alan Greenberg, Robert Kraft, Blythe McGarvie, Charles Phillips, Shari E. Redstone, Sumner M. Redstone, Frederic Salerno, and William Schwartz.

Assets[link]

Film production and distribution: Viacom International, Paramount Pictures, MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies

Television networks: Comedy Central, Logo, BET, Spike, TV Land, Nick@Nite, Nickelodeon, TeenNick, Nick Jr., MTV, VH1, MTV2, Tr3́s, CMT, Palladia

Video gaming: GameTrailers, Neopets

New media: MTV New Media

See also[link]

List of conglomerates

Viacom (1971–2005)

Gulf+Western

References[link]

External links[link]

Ketupa.net – Viacom

Viacom information by Hoover's

Viacom profile by Yahoo!

Split documentation – SEC filing on Form S-4 from October 5, 2005 describing the split.

* Category:Viacom subsidiaries Category:Companies based in Manhattan Category:Companies established in 2006 Category:Media companies based in New York City Category:Multinational companies based in New York City Category:Publicly traded companies based in New York City Category:Companies listed on NASDAQ Category:Article Feedback 5

ast:Viacom be:Viacom br:Viacom ca:Viacom cs:Viacom cy:Viacom de:Viacom el:Viacom es:Viacom eo:Viacom fr:Viacom ko:바이어컴 id:Viacom it:Viacom he:ויאקום ms:Viacom nl:Viacom ja:バイアコム no:Viacom pl:Viacom pt:Viacom ro:Viacom ru:Viacom sah:Viacom sq:Viacom simple:Viacom sk:Viacom (od 2006) fi:Viacom sv:Viacom tr:Viacom vi:Viacom zh:維亞康姆

Birth name	David Khari Webber Chappelle
Birth date	August 24, 1973
Birth place	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	American
Religion	Islam
Active	1987–present
Genre	Satire/political satire, improvisational comedy, observational comedy, surreal humor, sketch comedy, black comedy, blue comedy
Subject	Racism, race relations, American politics, African American culture, pop culture, recreational drug use, human sexuality, morality
Influences	Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Mel Blanc, Chris Rock
Signature	Dave Chapelle Signature.svg
Spouse	Elaine Chappelle (2001–present) 3 children
Notable work	Himself and Various in Chappelle's ShowHimself in Dave Chappelle's Block PartyAchoo in Robin Hood: Men in TightsThurgood Jenkins in Half Baked }}

David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle (; born August 24, 1973) is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist. Chappelle began his film career in the film ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films ''The Nutty Professor'', ''Con Air'', and ''Blue Streak''. His first lead role in a film was in ''Half Baked'' in 1998. In 2003, he became widely known for his popular sketch comedy television series, ''Chappelle's Show'', which ran until his abrupt retirement from the show in 2005. Chappelle is ranked forty-third in ''Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time''.

Early life[link]

Chappelle was born David Khari Webber Chappelle in Washington, D.C. on August 24, 1973. His father, William David Chappelle III, was a professor at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. His mother, Yvonne (née Reed), was a professor at Howard University, Prince George's Community College, and the University of Maryland and is also a Unitarian Universalist minister. Chappelle grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and attended Woodlin Elementary School. During young Chappelle's formative years, his comic inspiration came from various comedians, particularly Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor.

After his parents separated, Chappelle stayed in Washington with his mother while spending summers with his father in Ohio. In 1991, he graduated from Washington's Duke Ellington School of the Arts where he studied theatre arts.

Chappelle moved to New York City to pursue a career as a comedian. He gathered the courage to perform at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater in front of the infamous "Amateur Night" audience. The performance resulted in him being booed off the stage. Chappelle has described the experience as the moment that gave him the courage to continue his show business aspirations. He quickly made a name for himself in the New York comedy circuit, even performing in the city's parks. At the age of 19, Chappelle made his film debut as "Ahchoo" in Mel Brooks' ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights''. In the same year, Chappelle was offered the role of Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue in ''Forrest Gump''. Concerned about what seemed to be a racially demeaning character, he turned down the part; the film would go on to win Academy Award for Best Picture that year. He has since admitted to regretting the decision. Chappelle played another supporting movie role in 1994's little-seen ''Getting In''.

He attracted the attention of TV network executives and developed numerous pilots but none of them were picked up for series. In 1995, he made a guest appearance in an episode of ABC's highly rated sitcom ''Home Improvement''. The storyline had Chappelle and real-life friend comedian Jim Breuer ask Tim Taylor for advice on their girlfriends. The characters' single outing in the episode proved so popular that ABC decided to give them their own spin-off sitcom titled ''Buddies''. However, after taping a pilot episode, Jim Breuer was fired and replaced with actor Christopher Gartin. ''Buddies'' premiered in March 1996 to disappointing ratings. The show was cancelled after only four episodes out of thirteen that were produced. Nine years later, in May 2005, ten of the episodes were released on a single-disc DVD to capitalize on Chappelle's new-found fame.

After the failure of ''Buddies'', Chappelle starred in another pilot. According to Chappelle, the network was uncomfortable with the African-American cast and wanted white actors added. Chappelle resisted and subsequently accused the network of racism. Shortly after this incident, Chappelle's father died. Chappelle returned to Ohio and considered leaving the entertainment business.

He later appeared as a nightclub comedian in the 1996 comedy ''The Nutty Professor'' starring Eddie Murphy, one of his major comedic influences. He also had a minor role in 1997's ''Con Air''. He and Neal Brennan co-wrote the 1998 cult stoner film ''Half Baked'', Chappelle's first starring role, about a group of marijuana-smoking friends trying to get their friend out of jail. That same year, he appeared in "Pilots and Pens Lost", a 1998 episode of ''The Larry Sanders Show'''s sixth season, in which he and the executives of the show's nameless television network satirized the treatment to which scriptwriters and show creators were subjected, as well as the executives' knee-jerk tendencies toward racial stereotypes. In December of that year Chappelle appeared as Tom Hanks' friend and confidant in ''You've Got Mail''. In 1999, he appeared in the Martin Lawrence film ''Blue Streak''.

In 2000, Chappelle recorded his first HBO special, ''Dave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softly'', in Washington, DC. He followed this up with an appearance as "Conspiracy Brother" in the 2002 racial satire ''Undercover Brother''.

2003–2006: Standup and ''Chappelle's Show''[link]

In 2003, Chappelle debuted his own weekly sketch comedy show on Comedy Central called ''Chappelle's Show''. The show parodied many aspects of American culture including racial stereotypes, politics and pop culture. Along with comedy skits, the show also featured musical performances by mostly hip-hop and soul artists.

Chappelle's pointed social and political commentary quickly helped the show garner critical and commercial success as well as controversy. Richard Pryor, one of Chappelle's comedic influences, was a fan of the show and stated that he had "passed the torch" to Chappelle. Chappelle received two Emmy nominations for the show. Additionally, the DVD set became the best-selling DVD of a television show to date, overtaking the previous best-selling, ''The Simpsons'' first season DVD. It had sold over 3 million copies. Due to the show's popularity, Comedy Central's parent company Viacom reportedly offered Chappelle a $55 million contract (giving Chappelle a share of DVD sales) to continue production of ''Chappelle's Show'' for two more years while allowing him to do side projects. Chappelle had stated that sketches are not his favorite form of comedy, and that the characteristics of the show's format were somewhat like short films.

In June 2004, based on the popularity of the "Rick James" sketch, it was announced that Chappelle was in talks to portray Rick James in a biopic from Paramount Pictures (also owned by Viacom). James's estate disagreed with the proposed comical tone of the film and put a halt to the talks.

In 2004, Chappelle recorded his second comedy special, this time airing on Showtime - ''Dave Chappelle: For What It's Worth'', at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium.

Season three turbulence[link]

In a June 2004 stand-up performance in Sacramento, California, Chappelle walked off the stage after berating his audience for constantly shouting "I'm Rick James, bitch!," which became a catchphrase from the popular "Rick James" sketch. After a few minutes, Chappelle returned and continued by saying, "The show is ruining my life." He stated that he disliked working "20 hours a day" and that the popularity of the show was making it difficult for him to continue his stand-up career, which was "the most important thing" to him. He also told the audience:

}}

Season 3 was scheduled to air on May 31, 2005, but in that month, Chappelle stunned fans and the entertainment industry when he abruptly left during production of the third season of ''Chappelle's Show'' and took a trip to South Africa. Chappelle has since stated that he was unhappy with the direction the show had taken.

}}

Return[link]

In June 2005, Chappelle performed impromptu stand-up shows in Los Angeles. He then went on a tour that began in Newport, Kentucky, not far from his Ohio home. He also made a surprise appearance on HBO's ''Def Poetry'' where he performed two poems, titled ''Fuck Ashton Kutcher'' and ''How I Got the Lead on "Jeopardy!."'' He was interviewed for ''Inside the Actors Studio'' on December 18, 2005 at Pace University's Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts. The show premiered on February 12, 2006. Chappelle stated that the death of his father in 1998 had an impact on his decision to go to South Africa. By throwing himself into his work, he had not taken a chance to mourn his father's death. He also said the rumors that he was in drug or psychiatric treatment only persuaded him to stay in South Africa.

He continued:

Chappelle also said that he felt some of his sketches were "socially irresponsible." He singled out the "pixie sketch" in which pixies appear to people and encourage them to reinforce stereotypes of their races. In the sketch, Chappelle is wearing blackface and is dressed as a character in a minstrel show. According to Chappelle, during the filming of the sketch, a crew member was laughing in a way that made him feel uncomfortable and made him rethink the show. Chappelle said, "it was the first time I felt that someone was not laughing with me but laughing at me."

During these interviews, Chappelle did not rule out returning to ''Chappelle's Show'' to "finish what we started," but promised that he would not return without changes to the production, such as a better working environment. He also stated he would like to donate half of the DVD sales to charity. Chappelle expressed disdain at the possibility of his material from the unfinished third season being aired, saying that to do so would be "a bully move," and that he would not return to the show if Comedy Central were to air the unfinished material. On July 9, 2006, Comedy Central aired the first episode of ''Chappelle's Show: The Lost Episodes''. An uncensored DVD release of the episodes was made available on July 25.

The show still plays in syndication on several television networks despite the relatively small number of episodes compared to most American syndicated television programs.

''Dave Chappelle's Block Party''[link]

Chappelle was the star and producer of the Michel Gondry-directed documentary ''Dave Chappelle's Block Party'', which chronicles a Chappelle-hosted concert in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn on September 18, 2004. Several musical artists, including Kanye West, The Roots, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Dead Prez and Jill Scott are featured in the movie both performing in the concert and in conversation off-stage. The most surprising highlight of the event was the "last minute" reunion of popular 1990s hip hop group The Fugees. Chappelle toured several cities in February and March 2006 to promote the film under the moniker "Block Party All-Stars featuring Dave Chappelle". Universal Pictures' genre division Rogue Pictures released the film in the United States on March 3, 2006.

2007–present[link]

In April 2007, Chappelle set a stand-up endurance record at the Laugh Factory Sunset Strip comedy club, beating comedian Dane Cook's record of 3 hours and 50 minutes. In December of the same year, Chappelle broke his own record with a time of 6 hours and 12 minutes. Cook reclaimed the record in January 2008, with a time of 7 hours. On November 19, 2009 Chappelle performed at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, where it was speculated that he would aim to take back the record. However, he was disqualified according to the club owner, after he left the stage, five hours into his routine.

Chappelle again appeared on ''Inside the Actors Studio'' and in celebration of the show's 200th episode, he humorously interviewed the show's usual host, James Lipton. The episode aired on November 11, 2008.

Personal life[link]

Chappelle lives with his wife Elaine, two sons, Sulayman and Ibrahim, and daughter Sonal, on a farm, just outside Yellow Springs, Ohio. He also owns several houses in Xenia, Ohio. Regarding his home in Yellow Springs, Ohio, Chappelle says, "Turns out you don't need $50 million to live around these parts, just a nice smile and a kind way about you. You guys are the best neighbors ever," he stated at a blues and jazz festival in the town in mid-September 2006. "That's why I came back and that's why I'm staying."

Chappelle is a Muslim, having converted to Islam in 1998. He told ''Time Magazine'' in a May 2005 interview, "I don’t normally talk about my religion publicly because I don’t want people to associate me and my flaws with this beautiful thing. And I believe it is beautiful if you learn it the right way."

Filmography[link]

+ Actor
! Year	! Film	! Role	Notes
1992	''Def Comedy Jam''	Himself
1993	''Robin Hood: Men in Tights''	Ahchoo
1993	''Undercover Blues''	Ozzie
1995		Dave	One episode
1996		Reggie Warrington
1996		Dave Carlisle	Discontinued same year
1997	''Con Air''	Pinball
1998	''Half Baked''	Thurgood Jenkins / Sir Smoke-a-Lot
1998	''You've Got Mail''	Kevin Jackson
1999	''200 Cigarettes''	Disco Cabbie
1999	''Blue Streak''	Tulley
2000		Rusty P. Hayes
2002	''Undercover Brother''	Conspiracy Brother
2003–2006	''Chappelle's Show''	Himself and others
2005	''Inside the Actor's Studio''	Himself
2006	''Dave Chappelle's Block Party''	Himself	Documentary
2007		Himself	Documentary
2008	''Inside the Actor's Studio''	Himself

Discography[link]

+ Actor
! Year	! Album	! Role	Notes
2000	''Killin' Them Softly''	Executive Producer	Stand Up
2004		Executive Producer	Stand Up

References[link]

External links[link]

Video of Anderson Cooper 360 Interview

Fresh Air Interview in 2004

Category:1973 births Category:African-American actors Category:African American comedians Category:African-American television actors Category:American buskers Category:American cannabis activists Category:American film actors Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:Psychedelic drug advocates Category:American people of Ivorian descent Category:Living people Category:People from Silver Spring, Maryland Category:Actors from Washington, D.C. Category:People from Yellow Springs, Ohio Category:African-American Muslims Category:Converts to Islam

cs:Dave Chappelle da:Dave Chapelle de:David Chappelle es:Dave Chappelle fr:Dave Chappelle it:Dave Chappelle he:דייב שאפל nl:Dave Chappelle no:David Chappelle pl:Dave Chappelle pt:Dave Chappelle ru:Шапелл, Дэйв sq:Dave Chappelle fi:Dave Chappelle sv:Dave Chappelle

name	Shari Redstone
birth date	April 14, 1954
birth place	Washington, D.C.
parents	Sumner Redstone and Phyllis Gloria Raphael (1944–1999)
sibling	Brent Redstone
grandparents	Michael Rothstein
spouse	divorced
children	three
footnotes	}}

Shari Ellin Redstone (born April 14, 1954) is an American businesswoman. She is the president of National Amusements, vice-chairman of CBS Corporation and Viacom, and on December 21, 2007 became chairman of Midway Games (a position she subsequently relinquished in December 2008 when her father Sumner Redstone sold all his stock in the company). Through National Amusements, Shari Redstone and her family are majority owners of CBS Corporation, Viacom, et al.

She is the daughter of Sumner Redstone and Phyllis Gloria Raphael, sister of Brent Redstone, granddaughter of Michael Redstone (who changed his name from Michael Rothstein), and a 1975 Bachelor of Science graduate of Tufts University. She also received her law degrees at Boston University School of Law in 1978 (LLB) and in 1980 (LLM).

Ms. Redstone and her father have feuded publicly over issues of corporate governance and the future of the cinema chain. Documents have been made public which verify that, as part of a settlement from Sumner's first divorce, all of Sumner's stock is in irrevocable trusts that will be left to his grandchildren. The trusts are said to make it clear that Shari Redstone, Vice-Chairwoman of the Board of Viacom and CBS, is to assume her father's role upon his death.

References [link]

External links [link]

The Talented Ms. Redstone (2002)

Tufts E-News: ''Media Mogul In Training'' (May 2, 2002)

Shari Redstone Is Expected To Leave Viacom's Board (July 19, 2007)

Father Daughter Split at Viacom (2007-07-30)

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:American Jews Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople Category:Tufts University alumni