David Zaslav, in what could be his last full year leading Warner Bros. Discovery, saw his compensation more than triple in 2025 — thanks to nearly $110 million in stock options the company awarded him.
The exec’s total pay package of $165 million firmly ensconces him in the highest echelon of highly compensated entertainment and media executives — and if Paramount Skydance’s megadeal to buy WBD closes, Zaslav is poised to walk away with a payout of more than half a billion dollars.
In 2025, the compensation package for Zaslav, WBD’s president and CEO, included his $3 million base salary, $22.6 million in stock, a $25.7 million cash bonus — and stock options valued at $109,593,181, according to a company regulatory filing Thursday.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which is obligated to proceed in a business-as-usual fashion amid Paramount’s takeover bid, also set a date of June 9 for its annual shareholders meeting to vote on measures including electing the board of directors (including Zaslav).
WBD investors also would hold an advisory vote on the compensation granted to Zaslav and other top execs — and at the 2025 meeting, they voted against the executive pay packages.
At an April 23 special meeting of WBD shareholders, they overwhelmingly approved the Paramount merger. But a majority of investors voted against the “golden parachute” compensation packages for Zaslav and WBD’s other named executive officers in connection with the Paramount merger — a symbolic rebuke because it’s a non-binding measure and the Warner Bros. Discovery board can proceed with the payouts as planned anyway.
Under the terms of the exit compensation package for Zaslav, he will receive $34.2 million in cash severance; $517.2 million in equity in the combined company; and $44,195 in continued health coverage reimbursement benefits, according to a WBD filing with the SEC. That’s at least $550 million. In addition, Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to reimburse Zaslav up to $335 million for taxes assessed by the IRS on his accelerated stock vesting (although WBD says that figure will decline over time, with the final amount depending on the closing date of the Paramount pact).
In addition, Zaslav as of March 11 had $115.85 million worth of vested stock awards from Warner Bros. Discovery, according to the filing. And last month, Zaslav sold $114 million worth of WBD stock.
Paramount clinched its $111 billion deal to swallow WBD in February after Netflix declined to up its offer for Warner Bros. It’s still pending regulatory approvals, and several state attorneys general have been mulling taking legal action to block the deal. The proposed megadeal also has drawn major opposition from Hollywood unions, A-list actors and directors, and others. Paramount has said it expects to achieve $6 billion in cost savings through the merger, signaling mass layoffs if the merger closes.
To help fund the WBD deal, Paramount Skydance brought on the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, which have together committed $24 billion toward the merger. The combined Paramount-WBD will be 49.5% owned by foreign investors; about 38.5% of the equity in the new company will be owned by the three Middle Eastern funds, Paramount disclosed in an April 27 FCC filing.
