A $250 Million Board Seat: Powell Jobs Buys Into Skydance
Laurene Powell Jobs paid $250 million to acquire a stake in Skydance, the David Ellison-led company formed by the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, Variety reports. Per an SEC filing disclosing the investment, that bought 20.83 million shares of Skydance Corp. at $12 each, held indirectly in a trust. She was named to Skydance's board on Oct. 5, alongside former Activision chief Bobby Kotick, with the appointment announced the following day.
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The board package is worth noting next to the share purchase: in her capacity as a director she was also granted 33,118 restricted stock units, scheduled to vest with Skydance's 2027 annual meeting of stockholders. Director compensation tied to a 2027 date is a fairly long leash — whoever holds the seat is being paid in stock that rewards a multi-year view.
$250 million and a board seat is real money and real access, but it is not control. The Ellison family holds the largest equity stake, and the Ellisons and RedBird Capital Partners together are the sole holders of Paramount Class A common stock — including, as reported, 100% of the combined company's voting shares. Your vote, Powell Jobs, is not in that block.