Michael Redstone

Michael Redstone is an American businessman and member of the Redstone family, notable for his role in the family-owned National Amusements Inc. (NAI), a major theater chain that formerly controlled significant stakes in media conglomerates including Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS), and for initiating a prominent lawsuit against family members over alleged mismanagement of family shares.

Born as the son of Edward Stanton Redstone (1928–2011), brother of media executive Sumner Redstone (1923–2020), Michael is Sumner's nephew and cousin to Sumner's children, Shari Redstone and Brent Redstone. He worked at NAI, the privately held company founded by his grandfather Michael "Mickey" Redstone in the mid-20th century, which grew into a powerhouse that controlled assets like Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV, and Nickelodeon through its media investments. During his career, Sumner Redstone reportedly provided support for Michael's employment and education at the company.

Michael Redstone was born Max Rothstein on April 11, 1902, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Morris Rothstein and Rebecca Rothstein (née Bornstein), Eastern European Jewish immigrants who had settled in the city. Morris Rothstein, who had emigrated from what is now Ukraine around 1892, operated a bakery supply business with his brothers, supporting the family through modest means in Boston's working-class neighborhoods.

The Rothsteins lived in poverty amid the bustling Jewish immigrant community of Boston's West End, a dense enclave of Eastern European Jews where families often faced economic hardship and frequent relocations within the city to find affordable housing. The family later moved to the Brighton neighborhood, continuing their life in similar immigrant enclaves characterized by tight-knit Jewish networks and cultural traditions.

In adulthood, Rothstein anglicized his first name to Michael and adopted the nickname "Mickey," while changing the family surname to Redstone around 1940—a literal English translation of "Rothstein" that sounded less overtly Jewish and helped avoid associations with the infamous gambler Arnold Rothstein. This name change reflected broader patterns of assimilation among second-generation Jewish Americans in early 20th-century Boston. The family expanded with the birth of his son Sumner in 1923.