CBS Executive Chairman Sumner Redstone Cashes-In

Sumner Redstone

For his 90th birthday last year, media mogul Sumner Redstone had a star-studded party attended by Hollywood glitterati and a coterie of reconciled family members.

But as he approaches his 91st birthday today, The Wall Street Journal reports, Redstone's mind has been focused more on estate planning than party planning.

In the past two weeks, Redstone has sold hundreds of millions of dollars in stock in the two companies he controls: Viacom Inc.

He has pocketed about $236 million from exercising Viacom and CBS options and selling the underlying shares. Including sales earlier in the year, he has raised just over $300 million so far in 2014—his biggest cash-out in five years.

The 91-year-old Redstone, who serves as executive chairman at both companies, has been clearing up his estate to take advantage of tax benefits, say people familiar with the situation.

He also has made a number of philanthropic commitments that need to be met, including pledges to George Washington University, Harvard Law School, which he attended, and Boston University School of Law, where he once taught.

His holdings in Viacom and CBS are currently worth around $6 billion.

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