Michael Dammann Eisner was born on 7 March 1942, in the town of Mount Kisco, New York State USA, into a Jewish family reaching back to Germany, and is one of the biggest names in the film industry, built on his two decade stint as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of The Walt Disney Company; the billionaire film industry mogul is often credited with bringing “Disney” back from the brink of financial disaster and transforming it into one of the world’s most successful studios.
So just how rich is Michael Eisner? Authoritative sources have estimated that Michael has a net worth of over $1 billion as of mid-2016, much of it accumulated during his aforementioned time with “Disney” from 1984-2005.
Over the course of his career, Michael Eisner has proven himself time and again to be among the film industry’s most capable and competent businessmen and CEOs, and that is exactly why Eisner has managed to walk away from his time inwith a staggering net worth of over a billion dollars.
Michael Eisner Net Worth $1 Billion
Michael Eisner was raised in Manhattan’s Park Avenue, the son of two successful professionals – Eisner’s mother, Margaret, was president of the Irvington Institute hospital, while his father Lester Eisner Jr. worked as a bureaucrat in the US Federal Government. The Eisner family had a long tradition of success in business, and Michael Eisner looked set to follow in their footsteps. In his youth, Eisner attended one of the oldest American summer camps – the Keewaydin Canoe Camp in Vermont, Canada. The film industry magnate has often been quoted attributing his drive for success to the time he spent here. He was educated at The Lawrenceville School, and then Denison University from where he graduated in 1964 with a BA in English.
Whatever the case, Michael Eisner’s career would have an auspicious start. Working for a time in various American broadcasting networks, Eisner came to the notice of fellow businessman and film industry legend Barry Diller, who invited Michael Eisner to work with him for the television broadcaster ABC – and Eisner must have made the right impression, because when Diller left ABC to become the Chairman of the film studio and distributor Paramount Pictures Corporation, he extended an offer for Eisner to become the CEO of Paramount’s studio branch. Eisner’s time in Paramount Pictures yielded a host of commercially successful films, including the science fiction franchise “Star Trek”, and the 1981 adventure film “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” – successes that have certainly contributed a lot to Eisner’s net worth. It was during his work in “Paramount” that Eisner first met another future film industry heavy-hitter, Jeffrey Katzenberg.
In 1984, with Barry Diller departed from Paramount Pictures and the position of studio chief passed on to another, Michael Eisner left Paramount to become the CEO and Chairman of the Board for The Walt Disney Company. These would be Eisner’s most successful years, and in the two decades to follow, “Disney” recovered from its earlier slump to become a world-famous film studio and company, releasing such classic animated films as the 1989 “The Little Mermaid”. By the time Eisner left “Disney” in 2005, his net worth had already increased massively, and his name was well known in the film business.
In 2007, Eisner’ launched a studio, Vuguru through his investment firm, The Tornante Company, which produces and distributes videos for the Internet, portable media devices and cell phones.
Later the same year, Eisner joinedwith Madison Dearborn Partners to acquire the bubble-gum and collectibles firm, Topps Company, and produced a mockumentary style show about his takeover of the Topps Company, called “Back on Topps.”
Of late, Eisner has moved on to host and produce his own talk show on CNBC, “Conversations with Michael Eisner”. No doubt his net worth is still rising.
Reflecting his influence on the world of entertainment, Michael was rewarded with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008, and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2012.
In his personal life, Michael Eisner lives with his wife, Jane Breckenridge(m. 1967); they have three sons.
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