Disney paid Bob Iger $41 million last year—a 30% increase over the year before

The entertainment giant increased the overall compensation of its chief executive officer by 30% last year, bringing the total to $41.1 million, according to the company’s 2025 proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Iger had a base salary of $1 million, but also received $7.2 million in bonuses as well as $18.3 million in stock, $12 million in options, and $2.1 million in other compensation. In 2023, he earned $31.6 million.

The windfall comes after an especially successful year for Disney. Two of its films—Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine—were among the top cinematic releases last year, bringing in a total of $3 billion. Theme park admissions remained strong, and Iger is launching a $60 billion investment into the parks, cruises, and park resorts to keep Disney competitive as Universal Studios makes a push to woo away tourists with major upgrades at its Orlando theme parks.

Disney’s board of directors is currently scheduled to name Iger’s successor as CEO in 2026. Iger resumed the job in 2022, less than a year after his first tenure ended.

While $41 million is certainly nothing to sneeze at, it’s significantly less than Iger’s compensation in 2018, when he took home $65.6 million. That prompted Abigail Disney, the granddaughter of Roy Disney and grandniece of Walt Disney, to launch a public criticism of his compensation, saying that though she liked Iger and though he was doing an excellent job as CEO, the pay ratio of the CEO versus others at the company was “insane.”

The heiress and activist has remained active in shining a spotlight on CEO salaries in general, as well as average employee pay.

Disney notes that executive compensation, including Iger’s, is determined via a review of media peers, including Warner Bros Discovery, Netflix, Comcast, Charter, and Paramount.