Bob Iger

Bob Iger
Iger in 2013
Born
Robert Alan Iger

(1951-02-10) February 10, 1951 (age 75)
New York City, New York, U.S.
EducationIthaca College (BS)
TitleCEO of The Walt Disney Company (2005–2020, 2022–2026)
Owner of Los Angeles Lakers (2026-present)
Board member of
Spouses
Susan Iger
​
​
(m. 1977; div. 1994)​
​
(m. 1995)​
Children4
Signature

Robert Allen "Bob" Iger (/ˈaɪɡər/; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman. He has been the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company since 2022. He was in this role before from 2005 to 2020.

Early life

Robert Alan Iger was born in New York City. He is the oldest son of Miriam "Mimi" (née Tunick) (1927–2013) and Arthur L. Iger (1926–2010). His father was a World War II Navy veteran. His mother worked at Boardman Junior High School in Oceanside, New York. He was raised in Oceanside.

In 1973, he graduated magna cum laude from the School of Communications at Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Television and Radio.

Business career

Before Disney, Iger served as the president of ABC Television from 1994 to 1995 and the president and chief operating officer (COO) of Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. from 1995 until Disney's acquisition of the company in 1996.

Disney

He was named president and COO of Disney in 2000, and later succeeded Michael Eisner as CEO in 2005, after a successful effort by Roy E. Disney to shake-up the management of the company. As part of his yearly compensation, Iger earned $44.9 million in the year 2015. Iger drove expansion in Disney’s global markets creating real revenue generation center's in markets such as APAC by building leadership teams like VP Luke Kang, AVP John Gelke, Group Executive Gerard Devan and GMs like Don Photy and Carl Anthony. Africas grew similarly and existing strong markets were maintained in Europe, Asia and JPAC.

Iger led Disney through the major acquisitions of Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion, Marvel Entertainment in 2009 for $4 billion, Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.06 billion, and 21st Century Fox in 2019 for $71.3 billion. Iger also expanded the company's theme park resorts across the world.

On February 25, 2020, Iger announced his retirement as the CEO of Disney. However Iger returned to Disney as CEO on November 20, 2022, following the dismissal of his appointed successor, Bob Chapek. In July 2023, Disney renewed Iger's contract until 2026.

Politics

Iger has called himself as a centrist. Before, he was a member of the Democratic Party. In 2016, Iger switched his party registration from Democratic to independent. In May 2016, Iger criticized U.S. Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders, who criticized Disney for not paying their workers a good wage.

Iger co-chaired a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign on August 22, 2016. He was named to President-elect Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum on December 2, 2016. He resigned from the Forum on June 1, 2017, out of protest after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Iger thought about running for president before and after the 2016 U.S. presidential election as a Democrat, but decided against it.

Personal life

Iger was married to Kathleen Susan Iger from 1977 until they divorced in 1994. In 1995, Iger married a journalist called Willow Bay. Iger has four children: two from Kathleen Iger and two from Willow Bay.

According to Forbes, Iger's net worth is over $700 million in 2024.

Awards and honors

In December 2019, Iger was named by Time as their Businessperson of the Year. In 2020, he was honored into the Television Hall of Fame.

In September 2022, Iger was appointed an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. In October 2024, Iger was given the title of Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur by French president Emmanuel Macron.

References

  1. ↑ Frank (2024-11-14). "Disney Earnings Q4 2024: CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston Highlight Successes of Strategic Efforts This Year". The Walt Disney Company. Archived from the original on 2024-12-02. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  2. ↑ "Disney Biography of Mr. Robert A. Iger". Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Executive Profile for Robert A. Iger". Bloomberg News. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "Robert Iger 1951— Biography - sources for further information".
  5. ↑ "Robert Iger Biography". Encyclopedia of World Biography.
  6. ↑ Newcomb, Horace, ed. (2004). Encyclopedia of Television (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 1168. ISBN 978-1579583941.
  7. ↑ "Bob Iger Talks Live Streaming for Disney's Channels". Jewish Business News. February 5, 2015. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ Brook, Vincent (December 15, 2016). From Shtetl to Stardom: Jews and Hollywood: Chapter 1: Still an Empire of Their Own: How Jews Remain Atop a Reinvented Hollywood. Purdue University Press. p. 15. ISBN 9781557537638.
  9. ↑ "Arthur L. Iger". New York City / Long Island: (Death notice) Newsday. May 25, 2010. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Miriam A. Iger". New York City / Long Island: (Death notice) Newsday. March 13, 2013. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016.
  11. ↑ Dowd, Maureen (September 22, 2019). "The Slow-Burning Success of Disney's Bob Iger". The New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  12. ↑ "NYT Notices, Willow Bay and Robert Iger". NYT. 2008.
  13. ↑ Temple Avodah website: "Famous members – Robert Iger, President & CEO, Disney Corporation" Archived October 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine retrieved October 11, 2012
  14. ↑ "Here's what 13 successful CEOs looked like in high school | Financial Post". Business Insider. December 14, 2013.
  15. ↑ Whitehouse, Beth (July 23, 2013). "Disney CEO Robert Iger helps his LI elementary school get playground". Newsday. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Ithaca College Alumnus Bob Iger Named Marketwatch CEO of the Year". Ithaca College. 2006.
  17. ↑ "C-SPAN Biography of Mr. Robert A. Iger". C-SPAN.org. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  18. ↑ Orwall, Bruce (March 4, 2004). "Eisner Steps Down as Disney Chairman". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Disney Press Release Naming Iger as New CEO". Wall Street Journal. March 13, 2005. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  20. ↑ Variety Staff (December 23, 2015). "Disney CEO Bob Iger's Compensation Falls to $44.9 Million in 2015". Variety. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  21. 1 2 Mucha, Zeina; Singer, Lowell (2020-02-25). "Bob Chapek Named Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company". The Walt Disney Company. Archived from the original on 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  22. ↑ Zachary (November 21, 2022). "Robert A. Iger Appointed CEO by Disney Board of Directors". The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Disney's Former C.E.O. Gave Me the Exit Interview I Asked For". The New York Times. January 27, 2022.
  24. ↑ Rutenberg, Jim (October 8, 2017). "For Disney's Iger, an Unlikely Political Turn". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  25. ↑ Byers, Dylan (May 25, 2016). "Bob Iger fires back at Bernie Sanders: 'How many jobs have you created?'". CNN. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Hillary Clinton Fundraisers Coming to Beverly Hills". The Beverly Hills Courier. August 3, 2016. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Disney's Bob Iger named to Donald Trump's new President's Strategic and Policy Forum". Los Angeles Times. December 2, 2016.
  28. ↑ Stedman, Alex; Johnson, Ted (June 1, 2017). "Disney CEO Bob Iger Resigns From Trump's Advisory Council Over Paris Accord Decision". Variety. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  29. ↑ Swisher, Kara (January 27, 2022). "Disney's Former C.E.O. Gave Me the Exit Interview I Asked for". The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Kathleen Iger and Jarrod Cushing". The New York Times. September 25, 2005.
  31. ↑ "Willow Bay And Robert Iger". The New York Times. October 8, 1995. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  32. ↑ Oberoi, Mohit (June 12, 2024). "Bob Iger Net Worth 2024: Building the Magic and a $700 Million Fortune". Business 2 Community. Archived from the original on July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  33. ↑ Buscombe, Belinda (December 11, 2019). "Bob Iger Is Time's 2019 Businessperson of the Year". Time. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  34. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (December 3, 2019). "TV Academy Hall Of Fame Adding Bob Iger, Geraldine Laybourne, Seth MacFarlane, Jay Sandrich & Cicely Tyson". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Honorary awards to foreign nationals in 2022". GOV.UK. September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Queen's final knighthoods go to Williams and Iger". BBC News. September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  37. ↑ "Disney CEO Bob Iger receives France's highest civilian award". ABC7 Los Angeles. November 14, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2025.

Other websites