Time Warner chief nabs $49M in total compensation in 2017

As its pending merger with AT&T winds through the approval process, Time Warner revealed its chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes netted nearly $49 million in total compensation in 2017, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The $49 million payday was a 50% boost from the $32.6 million, with most of that gain coming in the form of one-time stock awards. Bewkes received $32 million in stock awards in 2017, more than four times the $7.2 million he received in 2016. Bewkes’ base salary, at $2 million, remained the same, as did his non-equity incentive compensation of $14.7 million.

AT&T and Time Warner are currently fighting for their merger lives in federal court in Washington, after the U.S. Dept. of Justice sued to block the deal. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon is expected to hear closing arguments in the case Monday, and his decision should be made public before the merger deadline of June 21.

While Bewkes saw his compensation soar in 2017, other top Time Warner executives, who received their one-time stock awards last year, watched their pay packages decline. Executive vice president and chief financial officer Howard Averill received $6.7 million in total compensation in 2017, down from $20.3 million in 2016; EVP and general counsel Paul Cappuccio received $6.2 million, down from $16.4 million in the prior year, and EVP, corporate marketing and communications Gary Ginsberg received $3.6 million, down from the $6.9 million he netted in 2016.