Founded in 1923, the Walt Disney Company is a wildly successful entertainment and media company with global operations. The parent company and its subsidiaries operate through five major divisions: Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, Media Networks, Consumer Products, and Interactive. Disney also operates several major cable television networks, including the Disney Channel, ABC Family, and ESPN. The Parks and Resort division manages domestic and international Disney theme parks, in addition to Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California. The Studio Entertainment division produces Disney motion pictures, both live-action and animated.

Disney reported Q4 2018 earnings on November 8, 2018. The entertainment and media company reported $14.31 billion in revenues this quarter, compared to $12.78 billion over the same period last year. At the time of writing, Disney has a market capitalization of $172.52 billion.

Here are the largest individual shareholders of the Walt Disney Company.

Bob Iger

Chairman and CEO Robert "Bob" Iger took the reins at Disney in 2006. Iger oversaw several key acquisitions for Disney, including Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009, Lucasfilm directed several key acquisitions for Disney, including that of Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009, Lucasfilm in 2012, and most recently 21st Century Fox in 2017. Prior to 2006, Iger served as Disney's COO from 2000 until 2005 when he was appointed president and chairman.

While Iger had originally planned to step down from Disney in 2019, he has agreed to stay on until at least 2021 to help integrate the new 21st Century Fox assets.

Iger originally joined Disney's executive team in 1996 as head of ABC Group. He was named one of the "25 Most Powerful People in Business" by Fortune magazine, and rightly so. Iger was rumored to be considering a Presidential bid for 2020, but his agreement to stay with Disney until 2021 may set back his political future by a few years. Robert Iger is Disney's single-largest individual shareholder with 1.06 million shares as of August 6, 2018. 

Christine McCarthy

Christine McCarthy obtained the position of senior executive vice president and CFO at the Walt Disney Company in 2015. She is in charge of Disney's finances worldwide and oversees company financial planning, investor relations, tax planning, supply chain management, and corporate real estate. McCarthy also directs Disney's efforts in the area of corporate citizenship.

McCarthy previously served as treasurer and executive vice president of corporate real estate. Before joining Disney in 2000, McCarthy worked at Imperial Bancorp and First Interstate Bancorp. Per McCarthy's most recent filing with the SEC on December 21, 2017, the Disney CFO holds 127,453 DIS shares, making her the company's second-largest individual shareholder.

Alan Braverman

Alan Braverman is the senior executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary of the Walt Disney Company. Braverman joined Disney in 1996 when the company acquired ABC, Inc., where he served as chief counsel. Braverman assumed his current position in 2003 and directs the company's entire staff of attorneys worldwide. According to Braverman's most recent filing with the SEC on July 11, 2018, the Disney general counsel holds 107,213 shares of the company.

Aylwin B. Lewis

The former CEO and President of Potbelly Sandwich Works, Aylwin B Lewis has been a director of Disney since 2004. Lewis started his career as a manager for a Jack in The Box right out of college, but soon graduated to become a regional general manager for KFC. From KFC, Lewis has bounced between executive roles, slowly working his way to the top of YUM Brands as the CEO of Kmart in 2004. When YUM was acquired by Sears, Lewis was named the parent company's new acting president. 

In May 2017, Lewis announced that he would be stepping down from Potbelly, although he would continue to serve as a director at Marriott International, World Business Chicago, and several additional small- to mid-size companies. With 85,606 shares of Disney under his belt as of September 30, 2018, Lewis is the company's fourth-largest individual shareholder.

Key Takeaways

  • While Iger had originally planned to step down from Disney in 2019, he has agreed to stay on until at least 2021 to help integrate the new 21st Century Fox assets.
  • Per McCarthy's most recent filing with the SEC on December 21, 2017, the Disney CFO holds 127,453 DIS shares, making her the company's second-largest individual shareholder.
  • According to Braverman's most recent filing with the SEC on July 11, 2018, the Disney general counsel holds 107,213 shares of the company.
  • With 85,606 shares of Disney under his belt as of September 30, 2018, Lewis is the company's fourth-largest individual shareholder.
  • As of December 31, 2017, Matschullat is the fifth-largest shareholder of Disney with 71,360 shares of the company.

Robert W. Matschullat

The longest-serving member on Disney's board of directors, Robert W. Matschullat has been with the company since 2002. Matschullat has since retired but was previously a director at Clorox and Chairman of the Board and CFO of The Seagram Company, which went defunct around the time of his departure. As of December 31, 2017, Matschullat is the fifth-largest shareholder of Disney with 71,360 shares of the company.