Warner Discovery boss is again among highest-paid CEOs in America

Even earlier Warner Bros. Discovery’s merchantability to Paramount Skydance Corp. closes, David Zaslav has already made a large payday.

His enforcement compensation bundle — which includes banal options, salary, bonuses and different perks — was valued astatine $165 cardinal past year, placing him arsenic the eighth-highest-paid CEO for a ample U.S. publically traded company, according to probe steadfast Equilar.

Tech companies dominated the database led by Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk with a wage bundle worthy astir $132.3 billion. RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian, the Irvine-based EV motortruck company, came successful 5th with $402.6 million.

Zaslav has antecedently ranked among America’s highest-paid CEOs and that was existent past year, erstwhile his full wage was much than 3 times what helium earned astatine the institution successful 2024, Equilar said. He was the lone Hollywood enforcement connected the database of the 10 highest-paid CEOs successful 2025.

“If helium were an animal, he’d beryllium a Cheshire feline with this large grin receptor to ear,” said Lloyd Greif, main enforcement of the Los Angeles concern slope Greif & Co. “It’s unprecedented. It’s a immense payday.”

As businesses successful Hollywood and different sectors look much consolidation and competition, executives are getting richly compensated much for their relation successful starring companies done challenging times.

“That has to bash with the situation we’re in, and due to the fact that of each the fears of recessions, each the fears of inflation, it’s gotten a batch harder to navigate done this system and truthful companies are paying much for that enactment astatine the top,” said Courtney Yu, Equilar’s manager of research.

But shareholders person pushed backmost against hefty wage packages, which travel during a play of upheaval successful Hollywood that has been buffeted by occupation losses from media consolidation and outsourcing. One proxy firm, Institutional Shareholder Services, adjacent labeled Zaslav’s bundle a “golden parachute proposal.”

Median compensation among main executives astatine large amusement companies was $35.1 cardinal successful 2025, up 3.8% from a twelvemonth ago, according to Equilar.

The Times and Equilar examined 9 publically traded companies — Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Skydance, Netflix, AMC Global Media Inc., Fox Corp., Comcast, Roku and Lionsgate.

Most companies declined to remark connected the wage levels and referred The Times to their nationalist filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other CEOs whose wage roseate past twelvemonth included Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, whose full compensation roseate 39% to $32.98 million; and erstwhile Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger, who received a bundle valued astatine $45.8 million, up 12%.

Several companies noted their CEO’s wage is tied to enforcement performance, whether done equity oregon bonuses tied to gathering definite milestones oregon goals.

In its proxy statement, for example, Fox cited gross maturation astatine its fashionable streaming work Tubi and precocious ratings for Fox News and Fox Sports.

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison was the second-highest-paid Hollywood executive, with a bundle worthy $63 million. However, much than 92% of it represented equity successful the company, according to Paramount. It includes $58.7 cardinal successful restricted banal units that vest implicit 5 years and Ellison besides is an proprietor successful the concern that acquired Paramount past year.

But the steepest summation went to Zaslav.

He signed an amended declaration successful June 2025, arsenic Warner Bros. Discovery prepared to abstracted its linear TV and cablegram concern from its streaming and movie studios. The institution alternatively accepted a $111-billion takeover by Paramount Skydance, which was approved by the Justice Department earlier this month.

The board’s compensation committee said Zaslav “exceeded expectations” and “over-delivered with respect to his strategical goals,” crediting his enactment for expanding shareholder value, according to the company’s proxy statement.

Warner Bros. Discovery had occurrence with its movie and TV shows, including the Emmy-winning infirmary play “The Pitt” and the vampire communicative “Sinners.”

Much of Zaslav’s compensation is successful banal options and equity awards, the worth of which soared aft Paramount offered to bargain Warner Bros. Discovery astatine a premium of $31 a share.

Even so, Zaslav’s bundle failed to triumph shareholder support; 84% of those who voted successful June disapproved, pursuing a akin rejection a twelvemonth before. ISS called the CEO’s wage “outsized” and urged shareholders to ballot no.

After the Paramount woody closes, Zaslav is estimated to person severance worthy up to $887 cardinal (which includes immoderate equity awards successful his 2025 compensation package).

Not each amusement CEO got a raise.

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer’s wage declined 46% to $9.8 cardinal successful the company’s past fiscal year, chiefly owed to a driblet successful the company’s banal price.

Netflix’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters besides saw their wage packages shrink — Sarandos’ dropped 13% to $53.9 cardinal and Peters’ fell 12% to $53.2 million. Both received little successful non-equity bonuses tied to the company’s show past year. In 2024, the committee changed its enforcement wage policies successful effect to feedback from shareholders.