Disney CEO Bob Chapek More Than Doubled Salary in 2021

The Walt Disney Firm (DIS) CEO Bob Chapek and his predecessor Bob Iger greater than doubled their salaries in 2021, in keeping with a submitting made by the corporate on Jan. 19, 2022. Their wage will increase occurred throughout a yr during which the corporate’s enterprise—a number of elements of which had shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic—made a halting restoration.

Each Chapek and Iger had taken vital cuts to their wage firstly of the pandemic. Iger had forgone his wage, beginning April 2020, for the rest of the fiscal yr, whereas Chapek took a 50% pay minimize for a similar interval.

Key Takeaways

Disney CEO Bob Chapek and his predecessor Bob Iger greater than doubled their salaries in 2021.
Chapek earned $32.5 million, whereas Iger took house $45.9 million.
Chapek was steering Disney via a troublesome and making an attempt time in its enterprise, when the pandemic utterly shut down elements of its enterprise.

Former CEO Iger, who led the corporate for 15 years and retired on the finish of 2021, earned $45.9 million in 2021, up from the $21 million he earned in 2020. His base wage was $3 million, and he earned a money bonus of $22.9 million. The corporate gave him $18.8 million in inventory choices and awards in addition to $1.2 million in different compensation.

Iger’s successor Bob Chapek additionally had a financially profitable 2021 and took house $32.5 million, up from $14.2 million in 2020. His base wage was $2.5 million. Included in Chapek’s earnings was a bonus of $14.3 million and $13.9 million in inventory choices and awards.

A Beneficiant Paymaster

As The Wall Road Journal factors out, Disney has all the time been one of many highest paymasters within the company world. Michael Eisner, who was chief govt of the corporate from 1984 to 2005, set a report for govt compensation in 1993 with a wage of $203.1 million. His successor Bob Iger earned $47.5 million in 2019. In that sense, the wage statistics launched yesterday are a return to pre-pandemic occasions, when the leisure behemoth’s enterprise was doing nicely and raking in money from a number of revenue facilities.

However the pandemic has wrought everlasting adjustments to the corporate’s enterprise mannequin. Streaming providers have develop into an necessary a part of content material distribution technique and could also be consuming into general earnings for the corporate’s theatrical releases. In an period of speedy COVID transmission and intermittent closures, the corporate’s theme parks all over the world have modified their operational protocols to reduce crowds.

Underneath the brand new CEO, Disney is concentrated on rising its streaming enterprise. Whereas it was launched underneath Bob Iger, Disney Plus has thrived underneath Chapek’s course, reaching 100 million subscribers 16 months after launch. The corporate plans to achieve between 230 million and 260 million subscribers for the streaming service by 2024. The theme parks division has returned to profitability, and apart from a serious hiccup with Marvel’s Black Widow, Disney topped the box-office in 2021, pandemic however.

“Mr. Chapek, as Chief Govt Officer, delivered sturdy efficiency given the unprecedented challenges ensuing from the COVID-19 pandemic and significant shareholder worth, pushed by distinctive execution of the Firm’s key strategic initiatives,” Disney acknowledged in its submitting.