Les Moonves

Les Moonves
Moonves in 2009
Born (1949-10-06) October 6, 1949 (age 75)
New York City, US
Alma materBucknell University (BA) Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre
OccupationMedia executive
Employers
Spouses
  • Nancy Wiesenfeld
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1978; div. 2004)​
  • ​
    (m. 2004)​
Children4

Leslie Roy Moonves (/ˈmuːnvɛz/; born October 6, 1949)[1] is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation[2][3] from 2003 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and abuse.[4] He has been married to TV personality Julie Chen since 2004.

He held a series of executive positions at CBS from July 1995 to September 2018.[2] He was also on the board of directors at ZeniMax Media from 1999 until 2021.[2][5] Later, he was co-president and co-chief operating officer (COO) of the original Viacom, the legal predecessor to CBS Corporation, from 2004 until the company split in December 2005. He became chairman of CBS in February 2016.[6][7][8] In September 2018, Moonves stepped down as chairman of CBS after multiple women brought forth sexual assault allegations against him. Moonves allegedly destroyed evidence of his sexual misconduct.[9]

According to various media reports, Moonves has amassed a net worth of over US$800 million through compensation from CBS. Moonves earned $68.4 million in 2017, combined with stock options of the media company, worth over $100 million.

  1. ^ "Les Moonves: Business Leader (1949–)". Biography.com. A&E Networks. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Biography from CBS Corporation website". Archived from the original on May 16, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  3. ^ "Leslie Moonves Interview". Archive of American Television. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
  4. ^ McCarthy, Tyler (September 9, 2018). "CBS chief Les Moonves steps down amid sexual misconduct allegations". Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  5. ^ Makuch, Eddie (March 17, 2021). "ZeniMax Board Of Directors Dissolved After Xbox's Bethesda Purchase". GameSpot. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Steinberg, Brian (February 3, 2016). "Leslie Moonves Named CBS Chairman, Replacing Sumner Redstone". Variety. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  7. ^ "Sumner Redstone resigns as CBS executive chairman, replaced by Leslie Moonves". Los Angeles Times. February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "Sumner Redstone Steps Down as CBS Chairman, Replaced by Leslie Moonves". The New York Times. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  9. ^ "Les Moonves: New allegation follows report saying ex-CBS boss destroyed evidence". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 11, 2019.