The shocking inside story of the struggle for power and control at Paramount Global, the multibillion-dollar entertainment empire controlled by the Redstone family, and the dysfunction, misconduct, and deceit that threatened the future of the company, from the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists who first broke the news
In 2016, the fate of Paramount Global—the multibillion-dollar entertainment empire that includes Paramount, CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Showtime, and Simon & Schuster—hung precariously in the balance. Its founder and head, ninety-three-year-old Sumner M. Redstone, was facing a very public lawsuit brought by a former romantic companion, Manuela Herzer—a lawsuit that placed Sumner’s deteriorating health and questionable judgment under a harsh light.
As one of the last in a long line of all-powerful media moguls, Sumner had been a relentlessly demanding boss, and an even more demanding father. When his daughter, Shari, took control of her father’s business, she faced the hostility of boards and management who for years had heard Sumner disparage her. Les Moonves, the popular CEO of CBS, felt particularly threatened and schemed with his allies on the board to strip Shari of power. But while he publicly battled Shari, news began to leak that Moonves had been involved in multiple instances of sexual misconduct, and he began working behind the scenes to try to make the stories disappear.
Unscripted is an explosive and unvarnished look at the usually secret inner workings of two public companies, their boards of directors, and a wealthy, dysfunctional family in the throes of seismic changes, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams. Through the microcosm of Paramount, whose once victorious business model of cable fees and ticket sales is crumbling under the assault of technological advances, and whose workplace is undergoing radical change in the wake of #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and a distaste for the old guard, Stewart and Abrams lay bare the battle for power at any price—and the carnage that ensued.
James Stewart is a modern-day muckraking journalist, covering everything from malpractice to fraud and law.
While at The Wall Street Journal, Stewart won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for his reporting on the stock market crash and insider trading. Stewart is a graduate of Harvard Law School and DePauw University. He lectures frequently on values and ethics in American business and politics. He is a member of the New York bar and holds the Bloomberg chair at the Columbia School of Journalism, where he is a professor.
If you want to feel disgusted with powerful old white men then read this book. Sometimes I felt sorry for Sumner Redstone’s declining situation, but also he reaped what he sowed. He’s lucky that his family gained back control of his care at the end. When the book transitioned to talking about Les Moonves I became even more disgusted. The majority of those CBS board members also looked like weasels. Shari Redstone seemed like the only one with any sense in her head or decency.
120 pages in and I didn’t understand why I should care. I know Moonves is a dirtbag, but he has barely made an appearance more than a third of the way into the book. So far it is a mind-numbing and poorly-written soap opera about people lying to each other. So many last names of people that haven’t been fleshed out at all. Succession without charm, wit or stakes.
An epic Succession-esq telling of a media mogul family. Interesting read! Great insight into the complex power dynamics of those who control public media narrative, and all of the drama and scandals surrounding them.
This should have been a home run for me. I love “Succession,” and I hate lecherous, entitled creeps. But it felt like a slog, with too many details that didn’t matter and a gossipy tone that undercut the seriousness. I was too bored to tap into the expected outrage, and I was too exasperated to follow the long, winding story. I found myself skimming the last half of the book, asking the same question again and again, “Why do I care about these people?”
Part of the problem lies in the fact that this story is over—these men are no longer in charge, and the things they did have been exposed. Harvey Weinstein is a husk of an insect rotting in a federal cocoon, and Bill Cosby has gone from America’s Dad to America’s Most Wanted. Had this book been released when we were still gasping and reeling from the revelations, it might have packed more of a punch. But this late in the game, the most I could manage was an eye-roll and a shrug. I’m ready to move on—these men don’t deserve our attention anymore.
Was Sumner Redstone banned from an upscale restaurant in Los Angeles? No. He was banned from all the upscale restaurants in Los Angeles, even though he was worth $13 billion. (One of his crimes: demanding to see the chef and then throwing his steak in the chef's face. Apparently the steak was overcooked.)
Did Sumner Redstone give a girlfriend $20 million? No. He gave several girlfriends $20 million each, several more millions of dollars each, and dozens $1 million each. Two girlfriends in particular extracted about $150 million total and nearly got Sumner's family members banned from his funeral.
Did Sumner Redstone date his son's ex-girlfriends? No. He dated his grandson's ex-girlfriends.
How did Sumner Redstone build shareholder confidence when he was in his eighties? By announcing that he was never going to die. Spoiler: He died, though he lived far longer than most people.
The show Succession is based in part on the Redstone family (though it's mostly based on the Murdochs). It turns out that reality was much stranger than HBO Max fiction.
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UPDATE: So far, my favorite quote from this book comes from Sumner himself, who told one of his live-in girlfriends, "I want my $45 million back." My second-favorite quote is from one of Sumner's girlfriends to one of her own boyfriends while they were breaking up: "I'm smarter than you, I'm richer than you, and I don't have a criminal past."
UPDATE TO UPDATE: So the first half of this book is about Sumner Redstone, with a brief overview of his rise and a lot of time spent on his fall and his struggles with his daughter Shari. Most of the second half of this book is about Les Moonves, the CBS executive and sexual predator. As a result, there's plenty of dealmaking and double-crossing, but there's also a lot of upsetting content that should be taken seriously, including sexual assault and elder abuse. There's plenty of outrageous behavior in this book, but I was heartened by the nurses and other members of the medical team who risked their careers to advocate for a neglected patient and by the women who came forward and reported assault and abuse, even at great peril to their livelihoods and their own mental health.
I saw the authors on CBS Mornings & thought a book referred to as a real life ‘Succession’ (I’m a fan) would have to be entertaining. It was. Of course I had some knowledge of Sumner Redstone, his story, his family, as well as Les Moonves & his career at CBS prior to reading the book. Still, this well written story of money, greed & power was entertaining & jaw dropping at times. I was disappointed that there wasn’t more discussion of the business aspects of the story. It was too much like a real life soap opera that I almost felt guilty reading. That and I felt that I needed a shower when I finished.
Bottom line is that this is a guilty pleasure kind of book. My gut instincts were correct in that what initially caught my attention is the only reason to read the book … if you’re a fan of ‘Succession’ and are looking for confirmation that it’s not pure fiction & is based in reality … here it is. As they say … you can’t make this shit up.
This book really feels like two books in one. Part of the story is about Sumner Redstone, aging, and how grifters attached themselves to him, alienating his family. This part was totally gripping!
The other part of the story is the #Me Too story of Les Moonves (CEO of CBS).
These two stories intersect in an enormous board battle between Sumner's daughter, Shari, and the supporters of Les Moonves.
Honestly, you can't make up stuff like this . . .to me, books like this are the "true crime" equivalents in the business world. The first section about Redstone though - - it's a little bit mind blowing.
Definitely recommend. I dinged it one star though because somehow the narrative seemed disjointed in comparison to say, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, my gold standard for this type of white collar crime and intrigue book.
Looking for recommendations of more books like these, so let me know if you've read any good ones!!
I am a fan of James Stewart and his previous books. My husband bought me this book as a Valentine's Day present. I was hoping it was more business-oriented but it was largely the inside story of two men who use their power for their sole benefit (largely sexual). While I finished the book there were many moments when I put the book aside as I was so repelled by the story - particularly Moonves'. I found the behavior of Redstone and Moonves to be disgusting and depraved. I was appalled by those that covered for them, but not surprised. While I feel for their victims, I was equally disgusted by the women who took advantage of Redstone. The only hero in this story is Shari Redstone. I wouldn't recommend the book to others but it was well reported.
I appreciate the work that went into documenting these stories but this was written like a list of things that happened. Never felt any attachment to anyone involved. I understand the point was to revel in the bad behavior of the rich and powerful but mostly it felt like the gory details were glossed over in favor of documenting every last thing the reader should be outraged about.
Being an avid fan of he HBO acclaimed series Succession, I was inevitably drawn to this book. The show Succession revolves around a billionaire family that owns multiple media subsidiaries with an ailing father, the family members all compete against one another for the top spot. In doing so, they backstab one another, destroy their own personal lives and despite great personal suffering compete for their fathers affection who is all but happy to dangle it in their faces. As a result, the scenes are rife with chess match decision making between family members, constant outcome analyzing like "If he or she does this than what is that going to do for me?" and family interactions that represents activity much closer to a patient in a mental ward than what you and I would deem a family interaction.
I go through this little synapsis to display the parallels between the show and the Redstone family. The authors are clever to market this book as the "Real life Succession", drawing naive fans like me to the book. In reality the show succession has a layer of sophistication and game theory around the decision making of the characters in the show. This book has none of that, yes there are similarities. The Redstone family also owns a media empire, yes the father manipulates family members to get his way like the show succession. Yes the father in both cases drives away family members and than pulls them back in when he needs them. Yes the father also engages in infidelity much like the show. All comparisons stop there, this book represents a tabloid like story that is true but more tedious than compelling. There are personal details here of Sumner Redstone at the later stages of his life being manipulated to send 150 million to two bimbos that have taken advantage of his mental state. This is not Succession by any means.
Overall, I think the second half of the book is interesting and sometimes compelling but the first half of the book is hard to get through with tabloid like story telling. The second half of the book brings up the #MeToo movement. Which feels like an event that happened recently but it was almost half a decade ago. I must confess to forgetting some of the stories that came out of the MeToo movement. Executives just pulling their dicks out in meetings. Unbelievable stories that are made believable by the sheer number of women who came forward. Often times one individual pulling the same move for decades like the one I mentioned above and dozens of women coming forward with the same stories. That was compelling but it doesn't make up for the first half of the book.
This at best is like the Walmart version of Succession. I wonder if the book was not marketed as the "Real life succession" would I have been so displeased with the expectation that they put into my head? Or better yet would I have even picked this book up if it was not marketed as the real life Succession? I don't know but what I can tell you that this is probably not worth your time. I do believe the authors will get this book sold to some network who can turn it into a miniseries. They astutely referred to parts of the book as "Season 1", "Season 2" etc rather than Part I, Part II etc.
Overall, not a fan and I would not recommend. Life it too short to read books that are not worth your time.
Amount of money involved in this story is astonishing. Feel bad for Sumner Redstone surrounded by hyenas on his death bed and story of Leslie Moonves is abhorrent.
Unscripted is more like two books, one about the effects of multi-billionaire media mogul Sumner Redstone’s physical and mental decay while under the control of a pair of mistresses, the other the downfall of CBS CEO Les Moonves during the height of the #MeToo movement. Shari Redstone’s battles to maintain her dad’s empire and become chairman of Paramount Global are the closest thing to a narrative through line here.
There’s a lot of Stewart and Abrams’s first-rate journalistic research throughout, and the book bursts with amoral, toxic individuals, with nearly everyone being driven by the need of money, power, or sex (in Shari Redstone’s case, a father’s love).
Look, I’m simple: if you bill a book as a “non-fictional Succession,” load it with family drama and a bunch of wannabe Richard IIIs and Lady Macbeths, and put billions of dollars and a major media or financial empire at stake, I’m absolutely going to devour it. This is no exception.
As to the quality of the book, it’s fine. Quite good at times.
James B. Stewart wrote the magnum opus of these kinds of books in Disneywar and I was kind of expecting that. But it didn’t go nearly that deep. Stewart and Rachel Abrams focused mostly on the hot goss of the creepy life of Sumner Redstone, media mogul, then transitioned into covering the #MeToo transgressions of Les Moonves (and, occasionally, others). You didn’t get the intricacies Stewart had in his previous work about how Redstone built such a massive empire from the humble origins of a theater chain.
Which is just as well. But ah, man, this one’s just gross.
The board room dealings are fine and fun and enjoyable as everyone tries to backstab each other while wearing five figure outfits and polite corporate smiles. But the way Redstone kept women, treated women, discarded women…yeesh. Even schadenfreude has its limits. And don’t even get me started on Moonves, who CBS was prepared to keep on before article-after-article made it impossible.
So yeah, fun in spots, very well written, and intricate enough without being bogged down in detail. But what a relief it is to be finished with this one. The less time spent with these old men, the better. Let them run nothing.
The second on the downfall of Les Moonves is far more compelling than the soap opera of Sumner Redstone's decline into senility, but maybe that's just me...
Unscripted is the real-life Succession. Written by New York Times reporters in the style of US Magazine, this riveting account details the shenanigans among Sumner Redstone, his family, and various hanger-ons for control of the family business. Redstone may have built a legacy of media interests, but at the sunset of his life, he was in failing health and poor memory. Enter a couple of hard-faced hussies, who pretend to be obedient concubines, but are really immoral thieves. They overtly rob Redstone, while spending vast quantities of his money on side pieces and revenge plots. They’re terrible, but so is Redstone, who comes across as a sad sack Trumpian figure.
It just gets better from there as #metoo catches up with Les Moonves and other handsy executives. The boardroom becomes as exciting as a battlefield as the family dukes it out with favored employees, the latter of whom Redstone prefers because they’re more loyal.
Unlike a normal competition, where you root for someone, everyone here exists in various degrees of awfulness. Unscripted doesn’t moralize, although it doesn’t have to. The events act as their own warning about the kind of people who devote their lives to the pursuit and retention of gobs of money. They suck because, of course, they have to.
A shocking look at the Redstone Media Empire and the tangled web of Hollywood, the #MeToo movement and the power- and greed-driven people caught up in it the drama.
I was especially saddened by the elder abuse inflicted upon Sumner Redstone later in life, and the two women who faked being in love with him just to try to rob him him of millions, his family and his life. Sumner wasn’t perfect, but nobody deserves that kind of treatment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
memoirs like this make me wanna further as a journalism student, this is insane plot line of these rich media execs, board members and more show just how much is hidden behind the scenes , 10/10 to the authors/journalists
I don’t know how to feel about this book. The first 1/3 has a lot of gossip, about who slept with whom and whose money they were after. This part is not as engaging, but is important to understand CBS/Viacom’s culture and the battle that ensues in the last 2/3 of the book.
That second part was like an episode of GoT with different factions and alliances forming based on each individual’s best interests at the time.
I think you would have to care quite a lot about the Sumner Redstone family in order to find this interesting. There were some interesting parts but not nearly enough to base an entire book on. It was fine but dragged. A weird mix of Redstone family history, and “me too” movement stuff that never came together in the same compelling way as Ronan Farrow’s book or the book about the Sackler family. Sumner Redstone and Les Moonves were def gross guys tho.
This book was OUTRAGEOUS. Every single person behaved terribly. The texts were wild. I did feel like they could have done a better job connecting the two halves of the book about Les and Sumner. Kind of felt like two insane stories smushed together
Felt like a salacious extended gossip column, but credit to the authors because I could feel the utter exhaustion from the countless number of lawsuits and heartache the family had to go through.