Where is Zas and what is he doing next?
Those two questions have become perhaps the greatest parlor recreation in media circles these days now that David “Zas” Zaslav is no longer the CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, so I thought I would snoop around.
The short reply: While I can inform you roughly where he’s been hanging out currently, the truth is that not even Zas knows what his next gig will be. That’s partly because he now has what they call in the previous neighborhood “f–k you money,” that means he can, if he desires, sit around and watch the seasons change.
His $81 billion sale of WBD took some time. A months-long bidding conflict was adopted by legal challenges and finally a settlement with lefty state AGs who concocted an antitrust case out of the WBD sale to Paramount. Eventually, cooler heads prevailed, recognizing it as a case of two corporations that needed to crew up to compete against tech heavyweights encroaching on their turf.
Jack Forbes / NY Post Design
The settlement cleared the manner for the Ellison household and their companions at Redbird Capital to broaden their presence in media, including WBD with its marquee properties of CNN, HBO and the Warner studio on high of Paramount’s CBS, its streaming service and its own iconic studio.
It also cleared the manner for one of the greatest paydays in media historical past. Zas is strolling away, all in, with around $1 billion in whole comp (vested choices, other stock awards and tax advantages) for his four-plus 12 months tenure at WBD.
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I have made the case he’s value every dime. WBD was floundering from the second he got there until comparatively lately. It was created through the mixture of Discovery and the previous Warner Media and loaded with debt and disparate properties. He fixed the infrastructure, slashed debt and last summer season began a bidding conflict that took the stock to $31 from around $7.
He’s not the only one who did properly; as this column has also pointed out. He pushed stock possession all through WBD not just his high people, making lots of newly minted millionaires as a outcome.
After all of that, Zas is not speeding to do anything. As he lately informed someone inquiring about his next transfer: “Still roping cattle, off the grid.”
Zas is strolling away, all in, with around $1 billion in whole comp (vested choices, other stock awards and tax advantages) for his four-plus-year tenure at WBD. Getty Images
It’s arduous to think about Zas driving a horse and lassoing wild beasts in his trademark fleece. On the prairie, you can’t discover the same high quality bagels and lox they serve at his favourite breakfast spot, Manhattan’s Barney Greengrass.
Also, if you know Zas, he’s a infamous workaholic who is never actually off the grid. While he is taking some much-needed downtime now to do some biking in Montana with his household, people who know him say he’s preparing for a second act, even if he’s not fairly sure what that will be.
In other phrases, the 66-year-old native Brooklynite will possible be back in NYC soon. When he returns, I am informed, he could crew up with his long-time mentor, cable pioneer John Malone, and “do deals,” one particular person who knows him tells me.
Zaslav could crew up with his long-time mentor, cable pioneer John Malone, and “do deals.” Getty Images for Vanity Fair
He also might write a e-book about his long profession on Wall Street. In addition to Malone, Zas discovered from the legendary Jack Welch when he was an NBCU govt and the media company was owned by General Electric.
He also might do nothing (he’s wealthy enough). But he has currently informed pals he “needs more hobbies” outside of operating media corporations, dealmaking, and sometimes biking. When he’s home in NYC, there’s only so much time Zas can spend grasp out at Barney Greengrass with a breakfast membership that consists of former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Hollywood mogul David Geffen and media magnate Barry Diller.
Keep an eye out, I am informed, because Zas has “flexibility to do almost anything.” As a reporter who loves a good story, I can’t wait.
