It's not exactly news that CEO's of large companies get paid quite well. Bob Iger, as the Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company gets paid more than most. In fact his total compensation in 2018 was around $65 million. One member of the Disney family finds that amount "insane."
Abigail Disney is the granddaughter of Roy O. Disney, the brother of Walt and the co-founder of the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, the company that would eventually become The Walt Disney Company. She speaks out on corporate responsibility frequently and has never let the company she shares a name with off that particular hook. Her issues with Iger's salary don't appear to be tied to the gross income, but rather how much more Iger makes than the average employee of the company he oversees. According to Disney...
Let me very clear. I like Bob Iger. I do NOT speak for my family but only for myself. Other than owning shares (not that many) I have no more say in what happens there than anyone else. But by any objective measure a pay ratio over a thousand is insane
In a study recently conducted by the company Equilar (via Fast Company), they found that Bob Iger's income as CEO is 1,424 times that of the average Disney employee. While Iger isn't the highest paid CEO on the list, his pay ratio compared to the average employee is.
With theme park employees making up a large portion of the company's "average employees" it's certainly easier for Iger's salary to look that much bigger compared to other major corporations who don't have a lot of employees making low wages. Having said that, Disney's theme park employees currently start at double the federal minimum wage.
Money is always a sensitive issue, it's one of those things that we all need and most of us don't have enough of. Iger has overseen the Walt Disney Company during an unprecedented era of success. Nearly every corner of the company has been performing successfully. The film division makes blockbuster after blockbuster while the theme parks continue to post growth as well. Disney has now successfully acquired 21st Century Fox, which will be a major benefit as the company stands on the verge of releasing its own dedicated streaming service, opening up another avenue for revenue.
For what it's worth, Iger will actually be making a bit less this year than he did last year. The company has adjusted the CEO's compensation for this year in a way that will result in him making about $13.5 million less than he did in 2018.
The question of what is "acceptable" CEO pay is not a question that is going to have an easy answer and it's not one everybody is going to agree with. What is clear is that the Walt Disney Company has been incredibly successful and shows no signs of slowing down.
