Even before Warner Bros. Discovery’s sale to Paramount Skydance Corp. closes, David Zaslav has already made a big payday.
His executive compensation package — which includes stock options, salary, bonuses and other perks — was valued at $165 million last year, placing him as the eighth-highest-paid CEO for a large U.S. publicly traded company, according to research firm Equilar.
Tech companies dominated the list led by Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk with a pay package worth nearly $132.3 billion. RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian, the Irvine-based EV truck company, came in fifth with $402.6 million.
Zaslav has previously ranked among America’s highest-paid CEOs and that was true last year, when his total pay was more than three times what he earned at the company in 2024, Equilar said. He was the only Hollywood executive on the list of the 10 highest-paid CEOs in 2025.
“If he were an animal, he’d be a Cheshire cat with this big grin ear to ear,” said Lloyd Greif, chief executive of the Los Angeles investment bank Greif & Co. “It’s unprecedented. It’s a huge payday.”
As businesses in Hollywood and other sectors face more consolidation and competition, executives are getting richly compensated more for their role in leading companies through challenging times.
“That has to do with the environment we’re in, and because of all the fears of recessions, all the fears of inflation, it’s gotten a lot harder to navigate through this economy and so companies are paying more for that leadership at the top,” said Courtney Yu, Equilar’s director of research.
But shareholders have pushed back against hefty pay packages, which come during a period of upheaval in Hollywood that has been buffeted by job losses from media consolidation and outsourcing. One proxy firm, Institutional Shareholder Services, even labeled Zaslav’s package a “golden parachute proposal.”
Median compensation among chief executives at major entertainment companies was $35.1 million in 2025, up 3.8% from a year ago, according to Equilar.
The Times and Equilar examined nine publicly 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 comment on the pay levels and referred The Times to their public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other CEOs whose pay rose last year included Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, whose total compensation rose 39% to $32.98 million; and former Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger, who received a package valued at $45.8 million, up 12%.
Several companies noted their CEO’s pay is tied to executive performance, whether through equity or bonuses tied to meeting certain milestones or goals.
In its proxy statement, for example, Fox cited revenue growth at its popular streaming service Tubi and high ratings for Fox News and Fox Sports.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison was the second-highest-paid Hollywood executive, with a package worth $63 million. However, more than 92% of it represented equity in the company, according to Paramount. It includes $58.7 million in restricted stock units that vest over five years and Ellison also is an owner in the business that acquired Paramount last year.
But the steepest increase went to Zaslav.
He signed an amended contract in June 2025, as Warner Bros. Discovery prepared to separate its linear TV and cable business from its streaming and movie studios. The company instead 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 strategic goals,” crediting his leadership for increasing shareholder value, according to the company’s proxy statement.
Warner Bros. Discovery had success with its film and TV shows, including the Emmy-winning hospital drama “The Pitt” and the vampire tale “Sinners.”
Much of Zaslav’s compensation is in stock options and equity awards, the value of which soared after Paramount offered to buy Warner Bros. Discovery at a premium of $31 a share.
Even so, Zaslav’s package failed to win shareholder support; 84% of those who voted in June disapproved, following a similar rejection a year before. ISS called the CEO’s pay “outsized” and urged shareholders to vote no.
After the Paramount deal closes, Zaslav is estimated to receive severance worth up to $887 million (which includes some equity awards in his 2025 compensation package).
Not every entertainment CEO got a raise.
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer’s pay declined 46% to $9.8 million in the company’s last fiscal year, primarily due to a drop in the company’s stock price.
Netflix’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters also saw their pay packages shrink — Sarandos’ dropped 13% to $53.9 million and Peters’ fell 12% to $53.2 million. Both received less in non-equity bonuses tied to the company’s performance last year. In 2024, the board changed its executive pay policies in response to feedback from shareholders.
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