Disney’s Hostile Billionaire Says Elon Musk Has “No Ego”, Disney Does

On April 3, The Walt Disney Company held its Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, but this was not a typical shareholders’ meeting. In the months leading up to the meeting, Bob Iger had been on the defense against “hostile” billionaire Nelson Peltz. Peltz — the founder and CEO of Trian Fund Management — had been aiming for two seats on Disney’s Board of Directors. It was the second time since Iger’s 2022 return as Disney CEO that Peltz had set his sights on Disney’s board.

Credit: Disney

Related: The Danger of Nelson Peltz and his Disney Bid

While Bob Iger had a lot of support from those who did not want to see Peltz anywhere near Disney’s Board of Directors, there was one person who was loud about his support of Peltz. That would be X (formerly Twitter) CEO, Elon Musk. Elon Musk was so supportive of Peltz’s bid for a board seat that he claimed that should Peltz win, he would actually buy stock in The Walt Disney Company.

Unfortunately for Peltz, luck and the shareholders were not on his side and his bid failed.

Credit: Daniel Oberhaus, Flickr

After his tough loss, Peltz went on CNBC to discuss Disney and his feelings about the company he owns millions of shares in. When it came to being defeated for a board seat, Peltz said that there was really only one thing to blame: ego. But not his ego. Instead, he said that the ego rested in Disney’s boardroom.

“There is no doubt that Jay Rasulo [former Disney CFO] and I were much more capable of being positive directors on this board than some of the other people there, no question. But the ego in the room didn’t allow for it. And you’ve seen that over and over again, as I have. And once people get ego in check, good things happen.”

Credit: Disney Parks Blog

Peltz, who recently agreed with the accusation that he is a “bully”, said that there was one CEO he was friends with who did not have an ego. As you might have guessed, that would be Elon Musk.

“Can I tell you something? Elon is a friend of mine, I think the world of him. This guy has no ego. OK? That may be hard for you to believe, but having spent the amount of time I have with him, he is willing to listen to anybody … But his ideas are beyond anything I’ve ever seen in my whole life. He’s a brilliant guy, understands so many things about the world. But he’s a good listener as well. And the really smart people in the world are good listeners.”

Credit: Milken Institute, Flickr

Related: Tesla Founder Elon Musk Takes Aim Against CEO Bob Iger Ahead of Disney’s Shareholder’s Meeting

While Mr. Peltz might feel that Musk has no ego and is a great CEO, there are a lot of people who will disagree. In fact, since purchasing Twitter back in October 2022, Musk has become a very controversial CEO. He has made headlines for things like firing 80% of Twitter’s staff, and telling them that they were expected to work long hours, or they would be fired. He even praised those who slept at the office.

Credit: Musk via Flickr Steve Jurvetson

And Musk has had his own troubles with Disney in recent months. Last November, Disney — along with a number of other companies — pulled their ads from X after a steep rise in antisemitism on the site was reported. Musk was not quiet about his disdain for the companies that pulled advertising, including Disney. At the New York Times DealBook Summit, Musk famously told Iger, “Go f*** yourself.”

Peltz has not said if he will seek another seat on Disney’s Board of Directors, but he has also not ruled it out. He said that Trian Partners will watch and see how things go.

Do you think Elon Musk has an ego? Are you glad Nelson Peltz did not get a board seat? Let us know in the comments!