During the COVID-19 pandemic, while many Americans were confined to their homes, Hollywood executives were thriving and making substantial profits. In 2021 alone, these West Coast bigwigs managed to rake in a staggering $1.4 billion, which marks a significant 50 percent increase from 2018. However, these astronomical salaries have only further widened the already vast disparity between Hollywood’s working class and their bosses, a divide that has fueled the ongoing strike by the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA). This strike has been fueled by grievances related to low pay and inadequate benefits.
One studio executive, Mike Royce, who participated in the WGA picket line, questioned how these executives managed to accumulate record salaries if they truly couldn’t afford to give raises to the working class employees. The top spot on the highest-paid Hollywood executives list over the past five years belonged to David Zaslav, the chief of Warner Bros. Discovery, who earned nearly $500 million. Throughout the pandemic, Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel emerged as the highest earner, bringing in over $308 million in 2021.
While writers and studio runners struggled to find financial opportunities, high-powered executives were enjoying massive profits. Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav topped the list with earnings of over $498 million from 2018 to 2022, with his most lucrative year being 2021 when he made a staggering $246 million. This windfall occurred before Zaslav orchestrated the landmark merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery worth over $40 billion. Ari Emanuel, the CEO and director of Endeavor Group Holdings, ranked second on the list, having earned $308 million in 2021. This exceptional income coincided with Endeavor’s successful IPO.
The LA Times conducted an analysis of research compiled by Equilar Inc. to compile the Hollywood rich list. According to their findings, Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, made $209 million since 2018, following closely behind embattled Disney chief Bob Iger who accrued $195 million. Another notable individual was Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who earned $174 million between 2018 and 2022.
Interestingly, Bob Iger and Lachlan Murdoch were two among the top earners who made more in 2018 than they did in 2021. Conversely, most executives experienced a significant financial boost during the peak of the pandemic. This growth was attributed to the surge in streaming services due to a rise in viewership. However, the turbulent economic landscape in 2022, characterized by a declining stock market and reduced media investment, caused a decline in their fortunes. In 2021, Zaslav’s salary plummeted by over $207 million to just $39 million, while Emanuel witnessed a substantial decrease of $289 million in 2022.
Kevin Klowden, the chief global strategist at the Milken Institute, attributed this decline in executive pay to the aftermath of the pandemic, particularly the slowdown in streaming growth. Despite this downturn, the writers on the WGA picket line firmly believe that they deserve much higher compensation compared to their executives. Lloyd Greif, the CEO of Greif & Co, an investment bank based in LA, stated that the focus on executive compensation is justified because those lower down the ladder are not benefiting from the industry’s success. In Hollywood, where luxury and extravagance abound, it becomes clear that the compensation divide is pronounced.
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