SUN VALLEY, Idaho – Disney boss Bob Iger made the biggest splash during Wednesday’s kickoff at Allen & Co.’s “summer camp for billionaires,” announcing he will stay on to run the Mouse House through 2026.
The company’s board gave the 72-year-old Iger a two-year contract extension, quelling rampant speculation about Disney’s succession plan – which had emerged as a top storyline among the nation’s business titans who gathered at the swanky Sun Valley resort for the annual conference.
Iger, who is in the thick of a turnaround effort following Disney’s lengthy stock slide last year, was all smiles in the Idaho heat even before news broke of the deal.
“Everything’s been good,” a casually dressed Iger told The Post while entering an outdoor lunch event on the resort grounds.
Iger was joined by two of his top Disney lieutenants, theme parks chairman Josh D’Amaro and entertainment division boss Dana Walden – both considered a potential heir to his throne.
“Despite the challenges, I believe Disney’s long-term future is incredibly bright,” Iger said later in the day. “But there is more to accomplish before this transformative work is complete, and because I want to ensure Disney is strongly positioned when my successor takes the helm, I have agreed to the Board’s request to remain CEO for an additional two years.”
Iger has experience with a bad handover. He returned as CEO late last year to replace Bob Chapek, his hand-picked successor.
Other moguls were more tight-lipped as they moved in and out of the area that hosted an outdoor cookout, where barbeque smoke could be seen streaming behind tall hedges that obstructed a view of the shindig.
OpenAI boss Sam Altman, another closely-watched guest at Sun Valley this year, was spotted walking out of the lunch with his partner, Australian software engineer Oliver Mulherin.
Altman didn’t tip his hand about any upgrades to ChatGPT but did weigh in about the potential cage match between his fellow tech titans Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg – though he wouldn’t reveal his pick to win the bout.
Elsewhere, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft – who famously feuded over the league’s handling of the “DeflateGate scandal” – were seen deep in conversation while walking to lunch together.
The vast majority of bigwigs were camera-shy, with some walking across a giant green lawn rather than cross paths with reporters.
Paramount Global chairwoman Shari Redstone was one of the few high-profile guests to acknowledge a small group of reporters ahead of the first session of the day at 8:30 a.m. local time, giving a hurried greeting as she stopped by the nearby Konditorei coffee shop.
“You guys are gonna go down as the only people who get to take my picture before coffee,” a smirking Redstone said as she rushed past the area with a large coffee in hand.
Other notable attendees who stopped by included former Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, who shouted “Hey y’all” from across the courtyard while holding hands with husband Tom Bernthal.
While most attendees were still in the morning session, The Post spotted Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos scurrying across the grounds toward Sun Valley’s famed duck pond — and witnessed his strange encounter with Mother Nature. Sarandos was forced to duck and break into an evasive jog after a black bird perched in a nearby tree randomly swooped toward his head.
“You almost just saw me get attacked by a bird,” a sheepish Sarandos said as he walked past.
After the morning seminar, which lasted nearly three hours, a procession of billionaires and business titans walked across the grounds to lunch. Among those spotted leaving the powwow were billionaire and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was also seen entering the cookout. He said the morning seminar had been “great.”
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who reportedly traveled to Sun Valley to talk about the Biden administration’s bid to boost domestic computer chip production, ambled along next to her husband, Andrew Moffit.
Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp gave a cheery wave and greeting while briskly walking past the press pen, and Alice + Olivia founder and fashion designer Stacey Bendet struck a series of poses to show off a chic blue-and-yellow outfit that included a hat and a pair of giant sunglasses.
The only guest who stopped to chat with reporters after the morning talks was attorney Bob Werbel, who said he has attended the conference since the 1980s.
“I’m the only one here I’ve never heard of,” Werbel quipped.
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