When Walt Disney died in 1966, his net worth was between $100 million and $150 million.
That's over $1 billion in today's money – and his descendants are still fighting over it.
What happened to the Disney family fortune? It's a question that the young Walt Disney
likely never considered. As a child, Disney grew up in a household struggling to make
ends meet. And his early successes in the new field of animation were equaled by
setbacks and failures, with the young Disney company nearly going bankrupt multiple times.
Even after his first feature film, 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," became
a cultural sensation, Disney still came close to financial ruin during World War II,
and again during the construction of Disneyland in the early 1950s.
But Walt Disney's bold innovation and risk taking paid off. And even after his death,
the company's fortunes have continued to rise. Following a downturn in the 70s and 80s,
the company roared back with hit films in the 90s, and the acquisition of Pixar,
Marvel, and LucasFilm has pushed its value to roughly $100 billion or more.
This surge in value has only benefited some of Walt's family, though. According to Inspiration
Feed, when Walt died, 45% of his fortune was given to his wife and children, with another 10%
distributed among extended family. The remaining 45% of his assets were earmarked to fund a new
charity, with most of the money ultimately going to the private art school CalArts.
“They must know only the best. CalArts will provide that best.”
Not all of his descendants have gotten their due, though. In 1993 Sharon Mae Disney, the younger and
adoptive daughter of Walt and Lillian Disney, died at the age of 57. Her children were set to inherit
a total of $400 million. However, trustees were appointed with discretionary powers saying they
only had to distribute the money if the children had, quote, "the maturity and financial ability"
to manage their money. This loophole has resulted in Walt's grandson Bradley Lund,
who is now over 50 years old, not receiving a dime despite multiple court cases and lawsuits.
His cousins have had an easier time of it. Disney's older daughter, Diane Disney Miller,
had several children of her own who were slated to receive a portion of his fortune. Diane herself
passed away in 2013, and the inheritance reportedly was passed down without a hitch.
And the fortune continues to grow. According to the Hollywood Reporter,
a sizable portion of Walt Disney's wealth was handed down in the form of stocks in
the company, which has continued to accumulate wealth over the years.
Roy P. Disney, a grandson of Walt's brother and company co-founder Roy O. Disney,
stated in 2020 that the family owned less than 3% of the Disney
corporation. Even with ownership of such a small percentage, Insider reports that
would put the value of the family's shares at nearly $4 billion in today's dollars.
Despite the fact that their wealth allows them to own things like private jets and
multi-million-dollar estates, though, not every member of the Disney family is flaunting their
wealth. Dr. Abigail Disney, the granddaughter of Walt's brother, Roy, has donated more than
$70 million since receiving her inheritance nearly 40 years ago, and frequently speaks on
the need for measures like a wealth tax to combat inequality. She told The Cut,
"It's fundamental to remember that you're just a member of the human race, like everybody else,
and there's nothing about your money that makes you better than anyone else. If you don't know
that and you have money, it's the road to hell, no matter how much stuff you have around you."
When asked if Disney's CEO was making too much money compared to his employees, she told CNBC,
"Jesus Christ himself isn't worth 500 times his median worker's pay."
Though many of the Disney family are tight-lipped about exactly how
much they have inherited and what the full extent of the fortune is,
Abigail Disney has stated that if she wanted, she could become a billionaire.
So while some of Walt Disney's fortune is tied up in court, it's safe to say that
those who have access to the family's assets seem to be able to live pretty comfortably.