Sumner Redstone Spreads The Wealth

Boston-born Sumner Redstone is everywhere, from The Colbert Report to MGH. Just recently, the Viacom chair made a $35-million-dollar donation to the MGH burn center.

Rich people make donations all the time, but there's a reason for the mogul's gift. We knew that the 1979 Copley Plaza Hotel fire damaged Redstone's hand, the appearance of which gave rise to much speculation over at Gawker.

The injuries he sustained in that fire nearly killed him, as reported by the LA Times, who stated that the burns affected "over 60% of his body," leading to three months of treatment at MGH.

He describes what happened when he opened the door onto the fire in the prologue of A Passion to Win: "The pain was searing. I was being burned alive. But even in the middle of terror, there is sometimes clarity. I thought, what a horrible way to die."

Even more incredible, Redstone suffered those burns yet still managed to hang on to a ledge on the third floor before the fire department rescued him.

Image of A Passion to Win from Amazon.