Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to receive $606 million as he exits after Paramount merger

An SEC filing disclosed that David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, is set to obtain a total of $606.1 million as the Paramount-Skydance acquisition finalizes on Oct. 6. The amount comprises cash for shares and restricted stock units, including $381.7 million in stock options, and follows his divestiture of roughly $200 million in company stock since the February merger announcement.

The deal also triggers the exit of other top executives, including CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, chief revenue and strategy officer Bruce Campbell, co-chairs Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca of the Motion Picture Group, and network president Scott Miller. At the June shareholder meeting, a majority opposed golden-parachute arrangements and the 2025 compensation plans for these leaders. Zaslav, who doubled employee equity participation and helped cut WBD’s gross debt from $53 billion in mid-2022 to $33.1 billion by June 2026, has been one of the highest-paid media CEOs, earning $165 million in 2025. The newly formed Skydance now assumes WBD’s debt, which stands at $80 billion.