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CEO David Zaslav would make some $500 million if Warner Bros. Discovery is sold at a price near what Paramount has offered. Under Zaslav’s contract, his 21 million shares would vest immediately if the company is sold. Zaslav has long been one of media’s best-paid CEOs despite shareholder returns that lag larger rivals. Shareholders in June voted against his $52 million pay package in a symbolic but unusual rebuke.
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Zaslav has been awarded $470 million in compensation since 2019, including a $200 million package when his contract was renewed in 2021 ahead of the Warner-Discovery merger that the company is now seeking to unwind, pending the outcome of its current auction. (A good chunk of that is in options, more than half of which are out of the money, for now.)
The company has also tweaked financial goalposts to boost his bonus by excluding some losses from operations. Warner shares were down about 60% from 2021 until rumors of a deal began to swirl.