Report: Redstone's Men Make A King's Ransom

When it comes to executive compensation, few corporate chieftains have soared to the sky-high levels enjoyed by Sumner Redstone and his top lieutenants, Leslie Moonves and Philippe Dauman, according to the L-A Times.

CBS Corp. Chief Executive Moonves and Viacom CEO  Dauman are the second and third highest- paid executives, respectively, among publicly traded U.S. companies, according to the latest survey from data firm Equilar Inc.

Moonves pulled in $56.4 million in compensation last year, Equilar said, and Dauman was right behind at $54.1 million.

Both men earn far more than their peers who command much bigger media companies. Walt Disney Co. CEO Robert Iger made $43.5 million last year, and he runs a corporate empire  with more than $52 billion in annual revenue, or nearly four times the size of either CBS or Viacom. Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts collected $27.5 million in 2015, and his realm, which includes media company NBCUniversal, generated nearly $75 billion in revenue.

According to The Times, the pay reflects the style of Sumner Redstone, who has long run his $40-billion media empire like a private fiefdom and believes in awarding whopping pay packages to the bosses — himself included.

Until this year, Redstone, 93, collected pay from both Viacom and CBS — raking in annual salary, bonuses and stock awards valued at more than $350 million since 2006, the year he split his vast empire into the two companies.