The Walt Disney Company
Walt Disney · 1923
The Walt Disney Company is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate founded on October 16, 1923, as the Disney Brothers Studio by Walt and Roy Disney in California. It rose to prominence in animation with Steamboat Willie (1928), diversified into live-action films, television, and theme parks in the 1950s, reversed a post-1966 decline under Michael Eisner via international theme park expansion and the Disney Renaissance (1989–1999), and transformed into a major entertainment conglomerate under Bob Iger through strategic acquisitions (Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 21st Century Fox). It operates the largest television and film studio in Hollywood.