‘I’m in control!’ Quotations from Chairman Sumner Redstone

From near death in a hotel fire to expectations of immortality, here are some memorable quotations from media tycoon Sumner Redstone.

“Content is king.” — Redstone’s credo that some say he, rather than Bill Gates, coined.

“I was enveloped in flames. The fire shot up my legs. The pain was searing. I was being burned alive.” — Redstone in his 2001 book “A Passion to Win” about the 1979 hotel fire that almost killed him.

“As they say, we bet the ranch. Something like $5-to-700 million, which is now worth about $8 billion.” — Redstone in a 2012 interview with CNBC on the purchase of Viacom.

“Without Viacom, there would have been no Paramount. And there would have been no CBS.” — Redstone, 2012 CNBC interview.

“Patience is a virtue that I do not respect. If you’re patient, you’ll never go anywhere. It takes impatience to drive you to succeed.” — 2012 CNBC interview.

“I’m in control! Remember — I’m in control!” — Sept. 7, 1999, news conference after the takeover of CBS.

“We don’t think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot.” — Redstone, in interview with The Wall Street Journal after Paramount parted ways with Tom Cruise in August 2006. 

“I’ve always wanted to win. That doesn’t mean I always have, or I always will, but it’s been my objective throughout my life.” — Redstone, 2012 interview with CNBC.

“I expect to live forever. And I do everything possible to bring that result about.” — 2012 CNBC interview.