The highest-paid media CEO of 2012 is a familiar name in the TV business, based on a new report ranking the top media execs. Deadline.com reports that CBS’s Leslie Moonves, who earned $62.2 million last year, tops the list. Moonves’ pay package was 11.1% smaller than in 2011, the report notes..
The biggest jump among the top execs was made by Liberty Media’s Greg Maffei, who jumped to No. 2 from No. 28, earning $57.2 million. The piece notes that Liberty “adjusted stock options just in case the feds change the corporate deduction this year for performance-based compensation.”
Overall, the top 20 together earned $542.7 million, a big increase from their total 2011 earnings of $416.6 million, the piece adds.
Another new entrant to the top 10 was Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer, who earned $36.6 million.
Below is the list of the 10 highest-paid media CEOs, as compiled by Deadline:
1. Les Moonves, CBS, $62.2 million
2. Greg Maffai, Liberty Media, $57.2 million
3. David Zaslav, Discovery Communications, $49.9 million
4. Bob Iger, Disney, $40.2 million
5. Marissa Mayer, Yahoo, $36.6 million
6. Philippe Dauman, Viacom, $33.5 million
7. Rupert Murdoch, News Corp., $30.0 million
8. Brian Roberts, Comcast, $29.1 million
9. Michael Rapino, Live Nation, $28.5 million
10. Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner, $25.9 million
That comes to an average of $27 million per exec for each of the top twenty.
Had they each been paid a very nice $2 million, there would have been $500 million available for more ideas, production, entertainment, and, more importantly, EMPLOYMENT for thousands.
Just a thought for obviously deaf ears.
Peter Bright