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David Zaslav, the boss of Warner Bros Discovery and one of the best paid executives in Hollywood, is in line to make more than $700mn from the $111bn sale of the Hollywood studio to Paramount.
Zaslav could receive $34.2mn in cash severance payments, $115.8mn in vested stock and $517.2mn in unvested share awards, according to a filing by WBD overnight on Monday.
In addition, the WBD chief executive is in line for estimated tax reimbursements of up to $335.4mn.
Tax-code rules mean the payout will decrease with the passage of time as more shares vest and will go to zero if the completion of the deal, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, gets pushed into 2027. Paramount has said it expects the deal to complete in the third quarter.
Zaslav made a further $113mn after selling WBD shares this month.
WBD’s chief has won plaudits from shareholders for overseeing an auction that ended with a knock out bid of $31 a share from Paramount, compared with the $10 a share WBD was trading at this time last year.
The studio has also enjoyed a stellar year. Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, Sinners and Weapons picked up Oscars this weekend, while A Minecraft Movie reaped high returns at the box office.
Even so, Zaslav’s huge windfall will cause unease in Hollywood at a time when Paramount is expected by analysts to cut thousands of jobs from the combined studios, TV and news operations.
Zaslav’s pay has been a contentious issue since he was awarded a stock options-heavy package worth $247mn in 2021. A majority of WBD shareholders voted against his $52mn pay deal in 2024.
Monday’s filing also revealed payments to other WBD executives and advisers.
JB Perrette, boss of its global streaming and games business, could receive $142mn in cash severance and equity and chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels is in line for $120mn.
In the filing, WBD said that these payouts were “estimates based on multiple assumptions” and that the actual amounts “may materially differ”.
WBD also revealed its payments to financial advisers, with Allen & Co expected to get as much as $100mn and JPMorgan about $90mn.