The Bizarre Money Triangle at the Top of Viacom

Philippe Dauman won the first round. But the fight for Sumner Redstone’s empire is far from over.

- Felix Gillette

On the morning of Friday, Jan. 29, Stephen Read, a geriatric psychiatrist, paid a visit to the Beverly Hills mansion of Sumner Redstone, the 92-year-old media mogul. Under a court order, Read had been granted up to one hour to test Redstone’s mental competency on behalf of a client, who was suing the billionaire.

Days later, with the results of the psychiatric exam still under seal, Redstone resigned as executive chair of CBS and Viacom, the media conglomerates that he controls through his privately held company, National Amusements. For months, amid conflicting reports about his health, pressure had been mounting for Redstone to step down. The board of directors at CBS seemed well-prepared. On Feb. 3 it elected the company’s longtime chief executive officer, Leslie Moonves, to replace Redstone. The vote was unanimous. There was no drama.

At Viacom, on the other hand, things exploded. The news of Redstone’s abdication touched off a fierce power struggle, pitting Redstone’s daughter, Shari, against Viacom’s CEO and—as of Feb. 4— chair, Philippe Dauman. At stake isn’t only control of Viacom—a $14 billion corporation that owns MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and Paramount Pictures— but also Redstone’s legacy, not to mention his sizable personal fortune, valued at more than $5 billion. It promises to be one of the most tangled and protracted succession fights since the Jin dynasty’s War of the Eight Princes.