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Viacom chieftain Philippe Dauman isnt waiting to see whats under the Christmas tree.

The media honcho has sold nearly $140 million worth of Viacom stock since just before the Thanksgiving holiday, gifting himself some $87 million in net proceeds after the cost to exercise stock options, according to The Posts calculations.

Daumans accelerating share sales are fueling speculation on Wall Street about the future of Viacom considered an eventual takeover candidate for another media rival as well as his own place atop the company.

Speculation has been in high gear since early November, when 91-year-old chairman and controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone sounded frail during a November earnings call.

The question of who will succeed Redstone and control a media empire that includes Viacom and CBS has changed depending on whos in Redstones good graces.

His daughter Shari was long seen as his successor before a falling out, at which point Dauman was believed to be the frontrunner.

Now, media watchers are wondering if Daumans rapid-fire share sales indicate his power within the Redstone firmament is waning.

The company said the sales were made for normal financial planning purposes and denied any connection to changes at the company.

Mr. Dauman sold for financial planning purposes and remains among the most invested CEOs in the media industry, said Viacom spokesman Carl Folta.

Dauman began unloading shares on Nov. 24. After exercising stock options, he turned around and disposed of 300,000 shares, raising $22.3 million.

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Viacoms CEO stock dump has Wall Street buzzing