30 Unknown Facts Everyone Should Know About Robert Iger

Robert Iger, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company, was a driving force behind the reinvigoration of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Here are some very interesting facts about the American businessman:

1. Iger was appointed as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the ‘The Walt Disney Company,’ succeeding Michael Eisner in 2005.
2. He was born Robert Allen Iger, on February 10, 1951, in New York City, New York, United States, to Arthur L. Iger and Mimi. He has a younger sister Carolyn.
3. His family is of Jewish faith. His father was a World War II veteran who later served as executive vice president and general manager of the ‘Greenvale Marketing Corporation.’ He was also well known as an advertising and publishing executive and college professor. His mother retired as teaching assistant in the library media center at Boardman Junior High School, Oceanside.
4. Iger spent his childhood in Long Island, Oceanside, New York, and did schooling at Fulton Avenue School and graduated in 1969 from Oceanside High School. While there he was voted the ‘most enthusiastic’ and the ‘friendliest’ member of his class. He also served as sports editor of his high school newspaper.
5. He graduated with Bachelor of Science degree in Television and Radio from Roy H. Park School of Communication at Ithaca College in 1973, with great honor.
6. In October 2006, Iger, visited the Ithaca College to help it launch $115 million ‘Making a World of Difference’ fund-raising campaign and delivered an address to the campus community.
7. He was named ‘Market Watch CEO of the Year 2006.’ A subsidiary of Dow Jones & Company, Market Watch is a leading provider of business news, financial information and analytical tools.
8. Iger began his professional career in Ithaca, New York, as the host of ‘Campus Probe,’ an Ithaca College television show and later as weatherman for a local news station.
9. In 1974, he joined the American Broadcasting Company, as studio supervisor responsible for the soap opera and game show episodes.
10. Iger gradually emerged under the guidance of Roone Arledge, from being a production employee to a network executive and in 1985, he was appointed as Vice President for program planning and development of ABC Sports.
11. In 1989, he was named president of ABC entertainment and championed many a successful, long running hit series in 1990s, such as ‘Home Improvement, ‘‘The Drew Carey Show,’ ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ and the big money quiz show ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.’
12. After ABC was taken over by the Capitol City Broadcasting, in 1993, he was made the senior vice president in March and in 1994, took over as president and chief operating officer of the combined company.
13. In 1996, when Walt Disney Company purchased Capital Cities / ABC, Iger was retained as its chairman of renamed now as ABC, Inc.
14. As member of Disney’s senior management team, he was named president of the Walt Disney International on February 25, 1999, in addition to being the chairman of the ABC Group.
15. On January 24, 2000, the one-time studio supervisor, with only a bachelor’s degree in television production, Iger was preferred over Ivy League MBAs to the post of president and chief operating officer of the Walt Disney Company.
16. On March 13, 2005, Iger was chosen as successor to Michael D. Eisner. He was placed in charge of day to day operation and will take charge as Chief Executive Officer from Eisner in September, when he retires.
17. Under Iger’s leadership, Disney announced that it is buying ‘Pixar’ the animated studio of Steve Job, in deal worth $ 7.4 billion on January 24, 2006. His efforts were well appreciated by Roy E. Disney, when he said ‘animation has always been the heart and soul of The Walt Disney Company and it is wonderful to have Pixar team back into the fold.
18. Iger spearheaded the decision to acquiring ‘Marvel Entertainment,’ for $ 4 billion in 2009 and by August 2014, Disney’s Marvel movies have earned over $ 4 billion at the box office and contributed much more through merchandise.
19. On October 07, 2011, he was named chairman of the board as successor to John Pepper’s retirement in March 2012.
20. In November 2011, Apple had added to its board of directors Iger, for making Steve Jobs, the media’s conglomerates largest shareholder.
21. In October 2012, Iger clinched the deal with producer of George Lucas to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd for $ 4 billion with it the rights to the Star Wars and Indiana Jones multimedia franchise.
22. In March, 2016, Iger announced the opening of $ 5.5 billion ‘Shanghai Disney Resort’ and was thrown open on June 16, to become the second largest theme park with mixture of original and existing intellectual property.
23. Iger in a reply to Vermont senator’s accusation, claimed to have hired 11,000 new employees in the past decade at the Disneyland and over 18,000 in the United States in the last five years as of May 2016.
24. In March 2017, Disney board extended Iger’s contract by one year until July 02, 2019, for his third extension and further added that he would serve as a consultant for the following three years.
25. On Friday the July 27, 2018, under Iger’s leadership Disney and the Twenty-First Century Fox shareholders struck a deal worth $ 71.3 billion deal to give Disney control over Fox’s entertainment properties and 39 percent stake in Sky TV.
26. After he divorced Kathleen Susan in 1994, he married a former model and American journalist, Willow Bay, in Bridgehampton, New York, in an interfaith ceremony in 1995. He has two sons and two daughters.
27. On June 01, 2017, Iger, resigned from White House advisory council following Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw United States from the ‘Paris Climate Agreement.’
28. In June 2012, he was awarded the ‘Ambassador for Humanity Award’ for his longtime philanthropy and his leadership role in corporate citizenship. It was presented by Steven Spielberg, the founder of ‘USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education.’
29. The Producers Guild of America awarded Iger, with the ‘2014 Milestone Award,’ the highest PGA, award for contribution to entertainment.
30. In May 2015, he was named to the 25th Annual Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame and in October, the ‘Toy Industry Association,’ inducted him into the ‘Toy Industry Hall of Fame.’
31. Robert Iger Net Worth: $350 Million