THE X-RATED BILLIONAIRE
THERE were just two things that kept Sumner Redstone happy each day in his final years: sex and steak, says a girlfriend.
Though he demanded both from the “nurses” paid to attend him in his Los Angeles mansion, he was confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak.
And so, the billionaire media mogul found both a little taxing to enjoy.
Though Redstone – a tenacious and driven tycoon who’d turned his father’s cinema chain into a vast $40 billion (R680bn) empire that included Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV and Viacom – liked to insist he’d never die, he passed away last month aged 97.
Despite his last few years being dominated by court battles with girlfriends that revealed jaw-droppingly tawdry details of his personal life, he was known principally for what a rival described as his “business thuggery” as he built one of America’s largest entertainment empires.
Indeed, Redstone was so cantankerous that even when he could no longer speak, he recorded three words or phrases on an iPad that could be played back to people: “Yes”, “No”, and “F*** you”.
He expressed that last sentiment
