Disney CEO Bob Iger has stepped down from the position after nearly 15 years.
The Walt Disney Company announced on Tuesday that Iger was stepping down as CEO to assume the position of executive chairman of the company.
Bob Chapek, the former chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, will replace him as CEO.
Bob Iger will hold his new position as executive chairman until his contract expires on December 31, 2021, the company said.
Bob Iger net worth
Forbes estimated Bob Iger’s net worth at $690 million. He has a higher net worth than the Disney Heiress Abigail Disney, who is reportedly worth about $120 million.
Iger received a salary of $65.6 million in 2018, about 1,424 times the salary of the average employee of his company, Forbes noted.
Abigail Disney once described Iger’s salary as “insane.”
Bob Iger’s bio
Bog Iger (Robert Allen Iger) was born in Brooklyn, New York, but grew up in Oceanside, New York. His parents were Mimi and Arthur Iger.
His father, Arthur, was a World War II veteran and an advertising executive who later suffered manic-depressive disorder.
Iger studied Television and Radio at Ithaca College and graduated magna cum laude in 1973.
He started his career in the entertainment industry as an ABC studio supervisor in 1974. He rose to the position of vice president of ABC Sports and finally became the chief operating officer of Capital Cities/ABC.
Capital Cities Communications bought ABC for $3.5 billion in 1986.
The Walt Disney Company bought Capital/ABC in 1996, and Iger became the CEO of Disney in 2005. He oversaw the company’s expansion with the acquisition of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox.
Iger also oversaw the execution of the company’s direct-to-customer services that offer Disney’s content on platforms, such as Disney+, ESPN+, Hotstar, and Hulu.
His memoir, The Ride of a Lifetime, published in September 2019, follows his career over more than 40 years and his rise to the position of CEO of the Walt Disney Company in October 2005, after starting on a $150/per week job at ABC in 1974.
As the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, he was widely regarded as one of the most influential executives in the world.
He was named Times’ 2019 business person of the year. In January 2020, Iger was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame, alongside Cicely Tyson, Seth MacFarlane, Geraldine Laybourne, and Jay Sandrich.
He was married to Kathleen Susan, and they have two daughters. He married journalist Willow Bay in 1995.