Shareholder Value

Despite what you may hear about "creating new cinema classics" or "finding and developing exciting new talent," it's all actually about this:

Sony, Viacom, CBS Lead Entertainment Stocks After Three Quarters

... Sony stock surged 92 percent in the first three quarters of 2013, which ended Monday, outperforming all other media conglomerates.

The next-biggest gainers among conglomerates is Viacom, up 61 percent through three quarters, followed by CBS (up 46 percent), Time Warner (up 40 percent), Walt Disney (up 30 percent) and Comcast (up 22 percent). While 21st Century Fox has only been separated from News Corp since June, its shares are up 50 percent in the first three quarters this year on an adjusted basis. ...

And despite Turbo’s unimpressive box office, DreamWorks Animation is up 72 percent through three quarters, better than all conglomerates except Sony. ...

The CEOs of all the listed companies are rich for a reason. They're at the top of a glamorous industry that everyone (and his nephew) wants to be in. And they have pliable boards of directors eager to shower them with loot.

Rupert Murdoch, Michael Eisner, Sumner Redstone, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Robert Iger are rich for definite reasons. They've been in the right businesses at the right time.