Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to receive $606 million after Paramount acquisition

David Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, is set to receive roughly $606.1 million in cash and stock proceeds following the completion of the company’s merger with Paramount on Oct. 6, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The payout includes stock options valued at $381.7 million and restricted-stock units that will be converted to cash, both subject to withholding and capital-gains taxes. Zaslav also sold nearly $200 million of WBD shares after the deal was announced in February.

The merger also triggered the departure of several other senior leaders, including chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels, chief revenue and strategy officer Bruce Campbell, co-chairs of the Motion Picture Group Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca, and president of networks and streaming distribution Scott Miller. Additional executives such as Gerhard Zeiler and JB Perrette received sizable payments as part of the transaction.

At Warner Bros. Discovery’s annual shareholder meeting in June, a majority of shareholders voted against golden-parachute arrangements for Zaslav and other named executives, as well as against the 2025 compensation plans. Over his tenure, Zaslav oversaw cost-cutting measures and an expansion of employee equity participation, while the company reduced its gross debt from $53 billion in mid-2022 to $33.1 billion by June 2026. The newly formed Skydance entity that acquired WBD now carries approximately $80 billion of debt.