Bob Iger

Robert Allen "Bob" Iger (; 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.Temple Avodah website: "Famous members – Robert Iger, President & CEO, Disney Corporation"  retrieved October 11, 2012 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 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 journalist 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

Other websites

 Corporate biography


Category:1951 births
Category:Living people
Category:American billionaires
Category:American chief executives
Category:Disney people
Category:Businesspeople from New York City
Category:Writers from New York City