Media CEOs are highest paid
NEW YORK — They’re not Hollywood stars, they’re not TV personalities and they don’t play in a rock band, but their pay packages are in the same league.
Several of the 10 highest-paid CEOs last year worked in the media industry, according to a study carried out by executive compensation data firm Equilar and The Associated Press.
The best-paid chief executive of a large American company was David Zaslav, head of Discovery Communications. His total compensation more than quadrupled to $156.1 million in 2014 after he extended his contract.
Les Moonves, of CBS, held on to second place in the rankings, despite a drop in pay from a year earlier. His pay package totaled $54.4 million.
One reason for the high level of pay in the industry is that its CEOs are dealing with well-paid individuals.
“The talent, the actors and directors and writers, they’re being paid a lot of money,” said Steven Kaplan, a professor of finance at the University of Chicago. “In industries where the talent makes a lot of money, the CEO makes a lot of money as well.”
Pay packages for CEOs overall grew for the fifth straight year, driven by a rising stock market that pushed up the value of stock awards. Median compensation for the heads of Standard & Poor’s 500 companies rose to a record $10.6 million.
Peer pressure is another factor. The board members responsible for setting CEO pay typically consider what the heads of similar companies are making.
Also several of the CEOS work at companies where a few major shareholders control the vote. Media magnate Sumner Redstone controls almost 80 percent of the voting stock at CBS and Viacom. Redstone can easily override the concerns of other investors about pay levels.
