CEO Pay 2026

David Zaslav took home the largest CEO paycheck in 2026 for media companies, nearly 2x the second-highest earner, Comcast CEO Mike Cavanagh.

Interestingly, the Paramount Chief Legal Officer earns more than David Ellison.

Here’s how the Chiefs at the top of the Hollywood pay scale’s 2026 salaries stack up and the change from last year:

• David Zaslav - CEO

  • $165M

    • ↑217.9% from ($51.9M)

• $71.8M Mike Cavanagh (co-CEO: Comcast)

  • ↑153.7%

  • $60M in stock awards

• $67.4M Ari Emanuel (TKO)

  • ↑ 272%

• $63.6M Makan Delrahim (CLO: Paramount Skydance)

• $63.2M David Ellison (CEO: Paramount Skydance)

• $60.7M Jeff Shell (ex-pres: Skydance)

• $53.9M Ted Sarandos (co-CEO: Netflix)

  • ↓13%

• $53.2M Greg Peters (co-CEO: Netflix)

  • ↓12%

• $48.5M Andrew Brandon-Gordon (CSO/COO: Skydance)

• $45.8M - Bob Iger (Disney)

  • ↑ 12%

• $42.6M Mark Shapiro (COO: TKO)

• $35.1M Brian Roberts (co-CEO: Comcast)

  • ↑3.5%

• $26.6M Anthony Wood (CEO: Roku)

  • ↓4%

• $17.67M Gunnar Wiedenfels (CFO: WBD)

  • ↑3.6%

• $14.9M Adam Aron Dolan (CEO: AMC Theaters)

  • ↑32%

• $12.5M Kristin Dolan (CEO: AMC Global Media)

  • ↑44%

For reference, the 2024 salaries of the three previous Paramount co-CEOs were as follows:

• $22.2M George Cheeks (Paramount co-CEO)

• $19.6M Brian Roberts (Paramount co-CEO)

• $19.5M Chris McCarthy (Paramount co-CEO)

That sums to $61.3M, not far off from current Paramount CEO David Ellion’s $63.2M.

Of course, the largest pay raise could be WBD CEO David Zaslav’s exit package. In 2024, he made $51.9M, and he is expected to at least 10x that with some estimates set at $887M if the Paramount acquisition closes by Q3 2026.

For More:

Paramount may have a fight on its hands; a lawsuit was just filed in the California Federal court, alleging that the combo of PSKY and WBD reduces consumer choice and is therefore illegal. Full lawsuit here.

Gunnar Wiedenfels, CFO of Warner Bros. Discovery, has gotten his contract extended through 2028. Full terms here. No word yet on what will happen to him if/when PSKY acquires WBD. Wiedenfels had previously been pegged to oversee Discovery Global when a WBD split was still in the cards.