Paramount CEO Bob Bakish’s 2023 Pay Falls to $31.3M

Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish saw total compensation in 2023 of $31.3 million, compared with $32.0 million in 2022.

The company filed its annual proxy statement Monday, disclosing the latest pay packages for the Paramount boss and other top executives. Bakish’s compensation package in 2023 included a base salary of $3.1 million, as it has been for the past several years, stock awards of $15.5 million, $12.4 million earned under the company’s annual performance-based incentive program, $121,824 related to a change in pension value and $100,196 in other compensation.

The amount for his stock awards was slightly lower than in 2022, when it totaled close to $16 million, as was the money earned under the annual performance-based incentive program, which came in at $12.9 million in the prior year.

Bakish’s compensation package had totaled $20 million in 2021, followed by a jump in 2022 due to a $16 million stock awards grant.

Paramount, controlled by chair Shari Redstone via holding company National Amusements, has been the topic of deal chatter in recent months.

Early this year, Bakish urged his staff to prioritize “managing costs” and earnings growth in 2024. The CEO later made things official, unveiling plans for job reductions in the U.S., an estimated 800 according to sources, and cuts abroad over time.

Paramount’s stock dropped in 2023 to the tune of 17 percent. This year, to date, the stock is down 14 percent.