The Biography of Shari Redstone: Career, Net worth

Shari Redstone is one of the most successful American media executives in the world today. She is currently the President of National Amusement and the chairwoman of CBS Corporation and Viacom. Shari and her families are owners of CBS Corporation and  Viacom, BET, MTV Networks, and the film studio Paramount Pictures.

Early Life And Education

Shari Redstone was born on the 14th of April, 1954 at Washington, D.C into the family of Phyllis Gloria Raphael and Sumner Redstone. She is the granddaughter of Michael Redstone.  Her grandfather (Michael Redstone) was the original founder of National Amusement Park, the parent company controlling most of the companies that makes up the Redstone media empire. He was also the one who change the family name from Rothstein to Redstone in 1940.  Shari has a sister named Brent Redstone. 

In 1975, Shari graduated with a bachelor of science degree from Tufts University. She earned a law degree (JD) from the Boston University School of Law in 1978 and LLM in 1980. Thereafter, she practiced as a lawyer in corporate law, criminal law, and estate planning in the Boston area and then joined the family business (National Amusement).

Career History

Shari became the president of the National Amusement in 1999. Since then she has expanded the footprint of the organization and amass more firms for the organization. In the same year, she was rated among the top 10 movie exhibitors in the United States.

In 2000, while she was with the National Amusement company, precisely a year after she became the president of the NA, she entered into the Russian Theater Market. Her impact gave patrons accessed to high-end luxury theaters. About 10 years more, in 2010, she and her partners bought the theatres and built the Rising Star Media. She became the chairman of the Media organization and managed it until it became the top cinema chain in the country. However, the Rising Star Media was sold in 2011 to the Russian Theatre Operators Cinema Park. 

In the same year, Shari became a co-founder and managing partner of Advancit Capital LLC. The organization is an investment platform aim at enhancing early stage in the media, entertainment, and technology. In addition to this, she also became a co-chairman of MovieTickets.com and a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the National Theatre Owners Association (NATO).

In 2007, Shari and her Father feuded over some issues related to the management of the companies under National Amusements and the future of the cinema chain. As a result of this, a public document stating that all Sunmer's stock is in irrevocable trusts that would be left to be inherited by his grandchild. This document was part of his settlement from his first divorce.

On February 3, 2016, Shari's father resigned from his position as the CBS executive chairman. This was due to the various questions and speculations concerning his mental competency. Shari Redstone was then offered the post of a non-executive chair by CBS's board of directors but she refused. Hence, the board announced its decision to replace Sunmer Redstone with Les Moonves. In the same year, Shari Redstone who was the president of National Amusement ( managing the shareholder of CBS and Viacom) and the vice-chair of CBS and Viacom made a public statement concerning the succession of her father's position. The statement reads as follows:

"my father's Trust states his intention that I succeed him as (non-executive) Chair at CBS and Viacom, and also names me as a Trustee after his death." She went ahead to say that the chair of each company should be "not a Trustee of my father's trust or otherwise intertwined in Redstone family matters, " hence she nominated Les as the CBS chair.

However, on the 4th of February, 2016, the Viacom board of director nominated Philippe Dauman who was already the president and CEO, as the chairman in replacement of Sunmer Redstone. This was directly against the statement of Shari Redstone.

On 17th January 2017, a report by the Wall Street Journal stated that Shari wants the CBS Corps to merge with Viacom. The report also states that she had already started gathering names of those that would be on the new board team. 

On August 13, 2019, Shari Redstone was reported as the chairwoman for the reunited CBS Corps and Viacom by the Associated Press.

Net Worth

In September 2019, Shari Redstone estimated net worth is$4.9 billion. Her Worth in family assets is $5 billion while her companies' Worth is $36 billion.

Other Interest

Shari Redstone got married to Rabbi Ira A. Korff and had three children but later divorced. Her ex-husband was the director and president of National Amusement until two years after their divorce.

Shari Redstone is presently one of the board of directors of at Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the board of trustees at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She is also among the board of directors of The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. Recently, she joined the board and executive committee of "Our Time". The organization aim at enhancing the economic interests and political inclusion of young Americans aged 18–30. She is also a member of the local advisory board and executive committee for BUILD, a nonprofit organization whose aim is to help low poor youths gain education through entrepreneurship.

Shari Redstone has homes across Boston, Connecticut, and New York City.