News Summary
In a recent analysis, Robert Bakish has been identified as the highest-paid CEO in New York, earning $87 million largely due to a severance package following his exit from Paramount Global. Crain’s annual study highlights significant changes in executive compensation, particularly within Paramount, indicating volatility in CEO roles amid strategic corporate restructuring. Other high earners include Stephen Schwarzman and co-CEOs from KKR. This analysis raises questions about the implications of executive pay structures as companies adapt to market dynamics.
New York City – In a significant revelation regarding executive compensation, Robert Bakish has emerged as the highest-paid CEO in New York for 2024, with a total compensation package valued at $87 million. This amount was primarily driven by a lucrative severance package following his ousting from Paramount Global in April 2023.
The findings come from Crain’s annual analysis, which utilized the most recent data available from SEC filings for the previous year. The methodology employed considers various elements of executive compensation, such as salary, bonuses, nonequity incentive plans, option awards, stock awards, deferred compensation, and other types of compensation. This year’s data indicated substantial shifts in leadership within Paramount Global, contributing to Bakish’s remarkable earnings.
Following Bakish’s departure, Paramount Global appointed three co-CEOs. However, the leadership changes did not stabilize; two of these co-CEOs later resigned. The company also underwent a merger with Skydance Media and relocated its headquarters to Los Angeles. Such transitions often drastically impact compensation structures, reflecting both the volatility in executive roles and the strategic decisions made during corporate restructuring.
In addition to Bakish, Blackstone Inc.’s CEO Stephen Schwarzman ranked second in the highest-paid CEOs list for 2024, with a compensation of $84 million. Other notable executives who made it onto the list include Joseph Bae and Scott Nuttall, co-CEOs of KKR & Co. Inc., Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.’s David Zaslav, and Citigroup Inc.’s Jamie Dimon. These figures highlight a competitive landscape in which leaders in the finance and entertainment sectors command significant compensation packages based on various performance metrics and successful company outcomes.
Crain’s analysis also spotlighted the highest-paid non-CEOs, with Blackstone’s President and COO Jonathan Gray claiming the top spot with a pay package of $77.3 million. Following him closely were Jim Belardi of Apollo Global Management Inc., Citigroup Inc.’s head of banking Viswas Raghavan, and Blue Owl Capital Inc.’s CFO Alan Kirshenbaum. This consistency across sectors indicates that performance-based structures are prevalent, aligning with the payment models of Blackstone and KKR.
The compensation data for both CEOs and non-CEOs encompasses various components, reinforcing the complexity of how remuneration is determined in the corporate world. Multiple factors such as stock performance, market conditions, and individual achievements persistently play roles in shaping these financial rewards. However, actual realizations of stock awards may vary based on performance outcomes, highlighting the multifaceted nature of executive compensation.
The absence of a comprehensive system to track executive pay in real time presents challenges in capturing the full spectrum of changes that occur within compensation plans. Changes in executive roles—such as resignations and mergers—along with performance metrics continuously adjust the landscape. Thus, the figures reported in this analysis provide a snapshot rather than a continuous stream of data.
As companies navigate leadership transitions and adapt to the evolving market landscape, the dynamics of executive compensation will remain a focal point for both investors and the public. In 2024, the remarkable severance package that pushed Bakish to the forefront of the highest-paid CEOs illustrates how volatile the executive compensation arena can be, raising questions about the long-term implications of such arrangements in an increasingly competitive economy.
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Additional Resources
- Crain’s New York: Highest Paid Executives in New York 2025
- Wikipedia: Executive Compensation
- Equilar: New York Times Top 100 Highest Paid CEOs 2025
- Google Search: Highest Paid CEOs 2025
- New York Times: Highest Paid CEOs
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Corporation
- El País: Top Paid CEOs in the United States in 2024
- Google News: CEO Compensation 2025
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