Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Content Chief Ted Sarandos to See Pay Hiked to $31.5 Million in 2019

By Todd Spangler

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Reed Hastings, chairman and CEO of Netflix, and chief content officer Ted Sarandos will each receive salary and stock-option grants worth about $31.5 million in 2019, according to the company.

disclosed the annual salaries and stock-option allocations, as established by its board of directors, in an SEC filing Friday .

Hastings will receive a $700,000 annual salary and $30.8 million in stock options for 2019, per the filing. That’s an increase of 7% over 2018, when he was granted an estimated $28.7 million in stock options in addition to the same $700,000 base salary.

Sarandos will have a $18 million salary in 2019 — up from $12 million this year — as well as $13.5 million in stock (versus $14.25 million this year), for an overall increase of 20%.

According to Netflix’s most recent proxy statement , Hastings, who is the company’s largest individual shareholder, owned 10.76 million shares and stock options (including 5.56 million shares held in a family trust) as of April 9, 2018. That would currently be worth over $2.7 billion. Sarandos had about 498,000 stock options, which would be worth around $127 million today.

Also in the Dec. 28 filing, Netflix said chief product officer Greg Peters will receive $10 million in base salary and $6.8 million in stock options for 2019. That’s a 33% boost from Peters’ $6 million salary and $6.6 million in stock options for 2018.

In addition, outgoing CFO David Wells is to receive a base salary of $3.5 million and stock worth $2.8 million (a 20% year-over-year increase). In August, Netflix said Wells will exit the company after his successor is hired. Netflix general counsel David Hyman will have a 2019 salary of $3.5 million and $3.85 million in stock options (up 27% from 2018).

Last year, the company said it was eliminating performance bonuses and instead would deliver all cash compensation as salary. Netflix cited the 2017 Republican federal tax-reform law, under which corporate bonuses are subject to a charge. Still, the salary and stock options outlined for the Netflix execs may not reflect their total pay packages, which can include other forms of compensation.

Netflix said the number of options granted to the execs each month will be determined based on the fair market value on the date of grant multiplied by 0.4. The stock options are granted fully vested and can generally be exercised up to 10 years following the date of grant, regardless of employment status, according to the company.