Jason Kilar has been exposed by a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that told everybody about his earnings in 2020.

You know, the darkest year in recent recorded history?

The CEO of WarnerMedia earned an embarrassing amount of money, having made more than $52 million in 2020, according to that SEC proxy filing by parent AT&T.

But it wasn’t all salary. That would be obscene.

No, Kilar’s package was expanded due to a large stock award worth close to $50 million. His base salary was a paltry $1.6 million.

Kilar joined WarnerMedia in 2020.

And it’s not like he’s stealing money. After all, the proxy reported, “the Board sought the best talent available to lead WarnerMedia, and Mr. Kilar, with his experience at Hulu and Amazon, among other companies, brings a broad range of expertise in managing a media business.”

Kilar was doing some serious work.

“As CEO of WarnerMedia, Mr. Kilar was charged with overseeing a reorganization to realize synergies and help WarnerMedia operate more nimbly in the current media landscape,” the proxy said.

Well, Kilar did realize synergies.

Kilar’s total annual compensation was $17 million and included $12 million in grants of restricted stock units. (Vesting over four years of the stock awarded for 2002).

By comparison:

  • AT&T CEO John Stankey had a total package worth $21 million at the close of 2020, down from $22.5 million in 2019. We hope he’ll be OK.
  • AMC Entertainment, which reported a net loss of $4.6 billion for the year, showered CEO Adam Aron with a $21 million package for 2020, more than double the year before. 
  • Walt Disney executive chairman Bob Iger earned $21 million for its fiscal 2020 that ended in September. CEO Bob Chapek earned $14 million.

All in all, it’s good to be a high-level exec.

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