David Zaslav Sells $114 Million Worth of Warner Bros. Discovery Stock — A Move That Sparks Attention
David Zaslav, the president and chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), has filed to divest just over $114 million worth of company shares. The sale comes less than a week after WBD agreed to a potential takeover by Paramount Skydance for $31 per share, following Netflix’s decision to walk away from its own bid for Warner Bros.
Zaslav is unloading 4,004,149 WBD shares, valued at approximately $114.1 million at market price, according to an SEC filing dated March 3. The shares were granted to him as part of his compensation package, covering awards issued from January 2023 through February 2026.
Even with this sale, Zaslav retains additional WBD stock and options that could vest if the Paramount Skydance deal—valued at about $111 billion—proceeds to close, as outlined in WBD’s amended contracts for Zaslav and other senior executives in November. Should the sale proceed as planned, Zaslav’s net worth could exceed $1 billion, depending on future market movements and holdings.
Over the past years, Zaslav has been among the highest-paid executives in media and entertainment. In 2024, his compensation rose by 4.4% to roughly $51.9 million. The breakdown included a $3 million base salary, about $23.1 million in stock awards, roughly $23.9 million in bonus pay, and around $1.9 million in other compensation.
In June 2025, following a largely symbolic, non-binding shareholder rebuke of executive pay packages, WBD renegotiated Zaslav’s employment terms. The new agreement is designed to curb short-term cash compensation and shift more of the total compensation toward long-term incentives, effectively reorienting the pay mix to align with longer-range performance goals.
