Dana White’s recent appointment to Meta’s board of directors is already paying major dividends, with the Ultimate Fighting Championship president and CEO set to receive a substantial compensation package for his new role.
According to recent SEC filings, White and Meta’s two other new board members were granted 1,999 restricted stock units (RSUs) as part of their compensation. These RSUs were valued at approximately $1.28 million as of Friday morning.
While a portion of the stock will vest on May 15, 2025, “subject to continued service,” the majority will vest in quarterly installments over the next few years.
The stock is in addition a retainer that White is also due, and it appears to be a significantly larger distribution than what previous Meta board members initially received. For example, Tracey Thomas Travis, who became a director in March 2020, received 270 RSUs at the time.
In announcing White’s appointment, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg expressed his admiration for White’s entrepreneurialism and his success in building the UFC “into one of the most valuable, fastest growing and most popular sports enterprises in the world.”
There is also an important political context to this marriage.
White, a longtime ally and key political supporter of President Donald Trump, serves as a valuable link to the White House for Meta, which has been aggressively working to reshape its image as a liberal company in the wake of Trump’s victory in November.
White and Zuckerberg have bonded in recent years over their shared passion in mixed martial arts, and in 2023, White attempted to organize a celebrity fight between Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, which ultimately failed to pan out.
While the exact figures behind Dana White’s earnings from his UFC work remain disclosed, it’s widely speculated that his net worth runs well into the hundreds of millions. Known for his high-stakes personality, White has regularly spoken about his passion for gambling. During an appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast last June, White said that his “goal before I die” is to place a million-dollar bet on a single hand of blackjack.
In September, the UFC’s parent company TKO Group Holdings agreed to pay $375 million to settle class-action antitrust litigation brought by UFC fighters claiming the organization operated as an illegal monopsony.
With assistance from Jacob Feldman.