Hollywood's Top Execs Got a 51% Pay Hike in 2025 as Layoffs Erased 17,000 Jobs Analysis
The gap between media execs and their employees' pay remains massive. One Los Angeles nonprofit is pushing for an "Overpaid CEO" tax.
The top 18 Hollywood executives raked in a combined $746 million in compensation in 2025, according to TheWrap’s analysis of company proxy filings.
The total compensation for the top executives surged a stunning 51% from a year earlier, based on a tally of $615 million vs. $408.5 million in 2024. (This total excludes Paramount’s David Ellison and Jeff Shell and Starz’s Jeff Hirsch, who do not have 2024 comparisons.)
The overall pay increase for executives, primarily driven by stock awards, comes as the entertainment industry has been battered over the last few years by consolidation, a double strike by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA and the exodus of TV and film productions heading overseas for tax incentives.
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