A powerful media family torn apart by jealousy and rivalry. A granddaughter rushes to the aging patriarch’s arm as he withers very publicly. Lies, betrayal and lawsuits.
These aren’t the machinations of the fictional Roy family from “Succession,” but the dramas that have engulfed the very real Redstone clan, whose well-documented dysfunction partially inspired the critically acclaimed HBO show.
But those deep rifts — most notably between Paramount Global owner Shari Redstone and her niece Keryn Redstone — may soon begin to heal thanks to imminent payoffs for handing over the reins to the media and entertainment giant.
The Redstones are poised to raise $1.75 billion for their 77% stake in National Amusements, the family business that controls Paramount, in the on-again, off-again, on-again deal with Skydance Media.
Keryn Redstone, 42, will walk away with about $140 million — a final graveside gift from media titan Sumner Redstone as her share of a trust he set up for his five grandchildren, sources told The Post.
Mercury mogul Keryn affectionately called “Grumpy” became a dominant force in media by turning his father’s 14 cinemas into hundreds of movie palaces.
He then used the profits to buy relatively small stakes in media companies and resold those stakes in the 1980s for huge profits.
His next step was buying media companies like CBS and Viacom through takeover battles and sheer determination, before his health began to fail in the mid-2010s – when Keryn Redstone rushed to his side.
“I had a difficult but authentic relationship with my grandfather,” Keryn Redstone told The Post in an exclusive interview. “He had such a strong sense of humor.”
It can also be cut. Sumner pitted his two children, Shari and Brent Redstone, against each other in their succession battle that continues to play out as Paramount Global — the company he founded out of CBS and Viacom — nears its end.
The eldest of two Brent-born daughters, Keryn Redstone has faced her own struggles despite a seemingly idyllic upbringing in one of the country’s wealthiest families.
She grew up near the family compound in Massachusetts before her father moved the girls to a 625-acre farm in rural Evergreen, Colo., when she was 11.
She and her sister Lauren, now 38, went to a prep school in Colorado that required a five-hour round trip each day, Keryn said.
After graduation, she moved to New York, earning her film and television degree from NYU in less than two years, before earning a law degree from the University of Denver.
It was during her time in law school that one of the first in the family’s succession conflicts was fired when her father sued National Amusements.
Brent refused to give his voting shares in Paramount to his father, who was divorcing and wanted to retain control of the business. Shari sided with her father’s plans against her mother’s wishes.
Brent settled with National Amusements in 2007, receiving a payout of roughly $240 million but giving up his rights to any future money if the company is sold, according to media reports.
Sumner retained control of Paramount.
Keryn stayed by Grumpy’s side despite the estrangement between father and son.
She often traveled from her home in Colorado to stay at the mogul’s Los Angeles mansion overlooking Beverly Hills.
During that time, she befriended the mogul’s much younger girlfriend and caretaker Manuela Herzer, according to James Stewart and Rachel Abrams’ book, “Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy.”
Herzer would play a key role in tearing the Redstone family apart even further during a bitter legal battle between the girl’s friend and Shari after her father’s health began to decline.
In 2016, Keryn sided with Herzer, claiming her aunt sought a “do not resuscitate” order while her father was in the hospital, according to court records.
“Shari and her family have managed to completely isolate and effectively kidnap, brainwash and take advantage of my grandfather due to his weakened state of mind and poor health,” she said in a June 2016 statement. .
“Shari and her three grown children have managed to reverse decades of my grandfather’s careful estate planning and are poised to take control of Viacom and CBS.”
Keryn had moved into the Los Angeles residence last year at the request of Herzer and her grandfather when Sumner’s health began to rapidly fail, she added in her statement.
“My grandfather and I have had a very close and loving relationship since I was a little girl,” Keryn said at the time.
In exchange for her transfer, Grumpy created a $1 million trust for Keryn that allowed her to spend the proceeds of the principal, according to “Unscripted.”
The court battle aired a lot of the Redstones’ dirty laundry, including an alleged death threat by Shari to Keryn during Sumner’s 91st birthday party in 2014, his niece alleges in the lawsuit.
Keryn was sitting next to Sumner because he had hurt his hand and asked her to be next to him so she could help him eat, Keryn said in court filings.
Shari wanted to sit next to him and when Keryn refused to move her aunt threatened to kill her, according to court documents.
“I am saddened and disappointed that Keryn has chosen to side with Herzer against my father,” Shari’s spokeswoman said at the time.
During that time, Sumner Redstone had been using communication via an iPad preloaded with audio clips of his voice saying “yes,” “no” and “f— you,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Shari banned Keryn and Manuela from Sumner’s home and won the legal battle in 2019. Herzer agreed to return $3.25 million to the Redstone family — a fraction of the money the billionaire gave her in his final years.
During a recent interview with The Post, Keryn took some responsibility for going against the family.
“I am responsible for my actions, but they have done everything to make my life difficult.” she wailed.
Sumner died in 2020. He was 97 years old.
After his death, Keryn Redstone lived a peripatetic life, moving to rented apartments in Colorado, Northern California, Pennsylvania and Virginia, she told The Post.
She has also dabbled in the film business, being named as one of the executive producers of the 2021 horror film The Last Thing Mary Saw alongside the late Bruce Wasserstein’s daughter Scoop.
The film, set in 1843, tells the story of a strict matriarch of the murdered family and the role played in the murder by her youngest daughter, who had an affair with the maid.
Shari Redstone, meanwhile, took control of Sumner’s business and completed the CBS-Viacom merger in 2019.
Under Shari’s watch, Paramount Global shrank in value from a market cap of $31 billion at the time of the merger in December 2019 to what is now an $8 billion company.
Paramount’s 45-day window ends on August 21 before it is expected to accept Skydance’s offer.
Sumner’s five grandchildren will receive 40% of the proceeds, roughly $140 million each, sources with knowledge of the patriarch’s final will told The Post.
Sheri Redstone, 70, has three children – Tyler Korff, 38, Brandon Korff, 40, and Kimberlee Ostheimer, 42.
Ex-wife Phyllis Redstone, 99, is also expected to receive 40% of the proceeds, while Shari will receive the remaining 20%, about $350 million, the sources added.
Phyllis has recently been living in one of the bungalows at The Beverly Hills Hotel in California, a source told The Post. It is not known who will inherit her considerable fortune. She also received a $100 million cash settlement after her 52-year marriage to Sumner Redstone ended in divorce in 2002, according to the Los Angeles Times.
While Keryn has yet to patch things up with her high-profile aunt, she said she now enjoys a good relationship with cousin Tyler Korff, an ordained rabbi.
As for what the future might hold if she scores the big check from a Paramount sale, Keryn declined to discuss specifics.
Keryn said she likes and wants to be around animals.
“Give me 1,000 horses, cats and dogs and I’m good,” she said.
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