Here's what Netflix executives will earn in 2019. It's huge!
American streaming giant Netflix had quite an eventful year. Its business has been sky-rocketing this year with the staggering popularity of its original content. Needless to say, money is rolling in with the booming business. Yesterday, Netflix released 2019 annual salaries and stock-open allocations of its executives, as established by its board of directors, reports Business Insider. And, spoilers ahead, it is a lot!
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Netflix, Reed Hastings, will receive an annual salary of $700,000 (Rs. 4.9cr), which is the same as 2018 but his stock options will stand at $30.8mn (Rs. 215cr) for 2019. It's a 7% increase in stock-options from 2018, when he was granted an estimated $28.7mn (Rs. 200cr). He is also the largest individual shareholder of the company.
Netflix's Chief Content Officer, Ted Sarandos, will receive an annual salary of $18mn (Rs. 125cr) in 2019, an increase from $12mn (Rs. 84cr) this year. Sarandos will receive stock-options of $13.5mn (Rs. 94cr) in 2019, a decrease from $14.25mn (Rs. 99.6cr) this year. However, including both annual salary and stock-options, he will receive an overall increase of 20% in 2019.
If we combine the salaries and stock options of both Hastings and Sarandos, they will together make a whopping sum of $31.5mn (Rs. 220cr) in 2019. Interestingly, Hastings' net worth is much more than the compensation in a given year. In 2017, the Netflix CEO made it to the Forbes 400 with a net worth of an estimated $2.2bn (Rs. 15,383cr).
Financial chief David Wells' annual salary will increase from $2.8mn to $3.5mn (Rs. 19.5cr to Rs. 24cr) in 2019. He'll receive a $2.8mn (Rs. 19.5cr) stock-options allocation, increasing from $2.5mn (Rs. 17cr). Product chief Greg Peters' annual salary will see a hike from $6mn to $10mn (Rs. 42cr to Rs. 70cr) in 2019. His stock-option allocation, after increase, will stand at $6.8mn (Rs. 47.5cr).
Netflix's general and counsel, David Hyman, will have a 2019 salary of $3.5mn (Rs. 24cr) and will receive stock option allocation of $3.85mn (Rs. 27cr). Meanwhile, the streaming giant's shares rose 33% in 2018, as the company invested heavily in original content. It was also able to form a storytelling partnership with the Obamas, and another deal with American screenwriter Ryan Murphy.
