People
Who is Les Moonves? His wife, children, family, fortune
From Harvey Weinstein to Morgan Freeman to RKelly, reports of sexual misconduct against influential men and celebrities seem to be on the rise. Les Moonves is one of those men whose misdeeds came to light in late 2018.
The top media exec is best known forChairman and CEO of CBS Corporation. Since the mid-’80s, the businessman has steadily built his fortune, earning a reputation for having a Midas touch that enables him to revitalize failed networks to successful standards.
Les Moonves Bio
Leslie (Les) Moonves was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn New York on October 6, 1949. He was raised with a sister and two brothers in Valley Stream New York, where he attended the local high school before qualifying as a pre-med student at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania.
Moonves found the science major to be worldly and in his sophomore year he switched to studying Spanish, which he found much more interesting. He graduated in 1971 and returned to New York to pursue an acting career. He played minor roles in a few films before deciding that acting wasn’t his true calling.
He stayed in the television business, however, and joined Lorimar Television in 1985, where he served as an executive for the network’s films and miniseries. At Lorimar, he continued to climb the ladder, eventually becoming President and President of Warner Bros. from 1990 to 1993, when the two companies combined their operations.
His many achievements have earned him a reputation as one of the most successful media personalities.
scandal
In July 2018, the New York Times published allegations of sexual misconduct against Les Mooves. The three women at the forefront of the allegations are said to have come forward after Moonves took part in the #MeToo campaign and made donations last year. The campaign aimed to shed light on sexual abuse of women in the workplace.
Troubles seemed far from over for the media executive when, in September of that year, six more women came forward and sang the same tunes. According to some women, the abuse had occurred as early as the 1980s.
In light of the investigators’ findings, LesMoonves resigned from CBS and received a $120 million settlement pending the investigation’s conclusion. However, there is a current debate over whether Moonves will receive the full package, as it was found that he violated the terms of the settlement agreement by not fully cooperating with investigators.
Family – wife and children
Les Mooves married his first wife NancyWiesenfeld in 1978 and the union gave birth to three children – a girl Sara and two boys Adam and Michael. Wiesenfeld filed for divorce in 2003 citing irreconcilable differences and a year later the divorce was finalized.
When Moonves separated from his wife, he met Julie Chen and began dating her. The couple married in 2004 and had a son, Charlie, in 2009. The couple currently reside in Beverly Hills, California.
Julie Chen is an American television personality, TV host and producer for CBS. She is best known as the presenter of the TV talk show The Conversation. She has also hosted the American edition of The Big Brother Show since its inception in 2000.
In the face of her husband’s scandal, Chen has remained the faithful wife and has not broken from his side. However, the ordeal cost her her seat at the hosts’ table on the show The Talk. In a farewell message to fans in September 2018, Chen stated that she was leaving the show to be with her husband at a time when he needed her most.
Wealth (income and earnings)
As one of the top media execs in the world has come up with some pretty nifty payouts. Les Moonves was considered one of the highest paid executives in the United States, reportedly earning $68.4 million in 2017 alone!
As of 2018, Moonves’ net worth was a staggering $700 million. The media mogul currently resides in a $13 million home in Beverly Hills, one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the US. He owns two other homes in Malibu and New York.
