Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro’s Eye-Popping Salary Revealed

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Josh D’Amaro is making magic—and more—as the new Disney CEO.

On February 3rd, a 55-year-old executive was appointed CEO of The Walt Disney Company, taking over from Bob Iger after a two-year search for a successor.

Following his promotion, D’Amaro, a 28-year veteran of the company primarily focused on theme parks, will receive a base salary of $2.5 million annually, several news sources report.

In addition to his salary, he’s eligible for a yearly bonus based on his performance, potentially reaching 250% of his base pay. Each year he serves as CEO, D’Amaro will also receive $26.2 million in long-term stock incentives, plus a one-time bonus of $9.7 million related to his new position.

Bob Iger, who came back as CEO after previously retiring in 2020, will officially leave his position on March 18th.

According to a statement released on February 3rd, Bob Iger believes Josh D’Amaro is the ideal choice for the next CEO. Iger praised D’Amaro’s natural feel for the Disney brand, his understanding of what appeals to viewers, and his ability to carefully manage and complete complex projects.

He praised Josh’s exceptional talent for blending innovative ideas with strong execution, expressing excitement for both Josh’s future and the company’s success.

Disney is also increasing the salary of Dana Walden, Co-Chair of Disney Entertainment. She’ll now earn a base salary of $3.75 million per year in her new role as Disney’s Chief Creative Officer, several sources report.

Like D’Amaro, she’ll also be able to earn a yearly bonus based on her performance, aiming for double her salary. She will also receive long-term stock awards.

According to Iger, Dana Walden is a highly respected leader in the creative world. He believes her focus on creativity makes her an ideal fit for this new position at Disney.

Curious to find out how much money other Hollywood bigwigs are making? Read on.

According to Joe Giudice, he and his ex-wife, Teresa Giudice, barely earned anything for their first season on The Real Housewives of New Jersey. He revealed on his daughter Gia Giudice’s podcast, Casual Chaos, in August 2025, that they made around $25,000, which he considered a very small amount, but they accepted it.

Creating the first season of the show wasn’t inexpensive. The father of four remembered, “I believe that initial party we threw in my living room cost me around $150,000.”

As a huge fan of Dancing With the Stars, I always wondered about the financial side of winning! Jenna Johnson, who took home the mirrorball with Joey Graziadei last season, recently let it slip that there isn’t a cash prize for winning itself. But she explained that everyone who makes it to the finale does get paid through that point, and on top of that, they receive a really nice bonus! It’s great to know the contestants are well-compensated for all their hard work.

Johnson explained that winning doesn’t come with a huge financial reward; it’s mostly about the trophy. She also clarified that dancers and celebrities are guaranteed payment for a certain number of weeks on the show. While ABC hasn’t confirmed the exact amounts, reports suggest dancers earn between $1,200 and $1,600 per episode, potentially reaching $100,000 for the entire season. Celebrities, however, start at a salary of $125,000, and those who reach the semifinals and finals can earn an additional $50,000 in bonuses.

Jennifer Lawrence, an Academy Award winner, earned $25 million for her role in Adam McKay’s comedy film Don’t Look Up. However, her co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio, who also has an Oscar, received $30 million for the same movie.

I’ve always admired Leonardo DiCaprio’s success – he truly draws audiences in, and honestly, he earns more at the box office than I do. I feel very lucky with the deal I have, but I’ve definitely noticed something unsettling in my career, and I know other women experience it too. It’s really awkward even bringing up the possibility of unequal pay. And when you do ask about a difference, you often get vague answers – they’ll say it’s not about gender, but they won’t explain why there’s a discrepancy. It’s frustrating and leaves you feeling powerless.

Jennifer Lawrence’s positive outlook came after a difficult battle. When the 2014 Sony email leak revealed she was paid less than her male co-stars in the 2013 film American Hustle, it sparked a widespread discussion about unequal pay for women in Hollywood.

In a 2017 interview with Channel 4 News, Lawrence explained she wasn’t worried about her earnings. ‘I’m lucky to have the job I do,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t about the amount of money—millions is still a lot!—but about the broader issue of unfairness and inequality.’

Compared to Leonardo DiCaprio’s earnings, Jonah Hill received a relatively small $60,000 for his work in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street – before taxes and commissions. This is a significant difference considering the lead actor earned $10 million.

Hill said on The Howard Stern Show in 2014 that he was offered very little money for the role. However, he was excited about the opportunity to work with director Martin Scorsese on the film, so he quickly agreed to the deal before anyone could back out.

Hill, a two-time Best Supporting Actor nominee known for playing a frantic, drug-using stockbroker, said he’d be willing to sacrifice everything to work with director Martin Scorsese. He explained that while films like 22 Jump Street can help you earn a living, true passion projects are worth far more. He’d happily do it all over again, emphasizing that meaningful work isn’t about the money—it’s about doing something you believe in.

Oprah Winfrey happily accepted only a little bit of green to star in 1985’s The Color Purple.

In a 2023 interview with Essence, the media mogul recalled being offered just $35,000 for a film role, which they described as the best $35,000 they ever made. They explained that the experience was transformative and taught them valuable lessons.

Jennifer Lopez made history when she played the late Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla in the 1997 movie Selena. She was the first Latina actress to be paid $1 million for a film role.

Looking back at the movie that launched her career, Lopez recalled to Variety in 2019, “I was so young, I didn’t really understand what was happening.” She added that receiving a million-dollar offer was amazing and seemed to be a symbolic gesture from everyone involved.

This success allowed her to earn hundreds of millions of dollars more, and often she doesn’t even have to invest any of her own money to do so.

In a 2019 interview with GQ, Jennifer Lopez explained that she pursues projects out of passion, not just for financial gain. She shared that she wasn’t highly paid for Hustlers, and even produced it herself, choosing to invest in her own vision. She described this as a consistent approach, similar to her song Jenny From the Block, where she prioritizes doing what she loves.

Adrien Brody wasn’t motivated by money when he made The Brutalist. He chose the role of a struggling Hungarian architect in post-World War II America, and it ultimately earned him his second Best Actor Oscar, despite a relatively modest $250,000 salary.

Brody told Variety he’s ready to star in a big studio film, joking that he’s put all his resources into renovating a unique property – a barn he describes as resembling a castle – in upstate New York.

When asked about his early spending habits after joining Saturday Night Live in 2014 at age 20, Pete Davidson joked to New York magazine, “Do you know how much we make?” He then quipped that his pay – around $3,000 per episode – barely covered a single dinner.

It’s notable that pay has stayed consistent for new cast members on SNL. In 1975, the original season one stars – John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, and Chevy Chase – each earned $750 per episode. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $3,300 in 2014, or $4,428 in 2025.

Kenan Thompson earns significantly more than $3,000 per episode of SNL these days, especially as he begins his historic 22nd season. However, like everyone, he had to start with smaller roles earlier in his career.

In Demi Lovato’s 2024 documentary, Child Star, a former cast member of All That shared that their first paycheck was $800. They added that, being 12 years old at the time, it felt like a fortune – almost a million dollars.

It turns out Gilmore Girls’ status as a beloved rewatchable classic is literally priceless.

Actress Lauren Graham, best known for playing Lorelai Gilmore over seven seasons and in the 2016 revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, recently shared that she doesn’t receive any ongoing payments (residuals) from Netflix. She told Jimmy Kimmel in March 2025 that she’s instead been ‘paid in love and appreciation’ for her work.

As a big supporter of Tommy Dorfman, I was really struck by what she shared during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. She actually talked about her pay for 13 Reasons Why, and it highlighted a huge issue with streaming services like Netflix. Basically, even when a show becomes a massive hit – like 13 Reasons Why was – the actors and crew don’t automatically get extra compensation. That’s a big part of why both the actors and writers were striking – to change that unfair practice.

Dorfman revealed on Threads on July 24th that she earned $29,953.24 for the first season of 13 Reasons Why before her agency, manager (combined 20%), and taxes took their cut. She worked on 8 episodes over six months, doing all the promotional work and appearing in key artwork for the show. She also traveled frequently between New York City and San Francisco to film, often working for days without pay and barely qualifying for health insurance.

Dorfman also noted that the show’s first season quickly became incredibly popular, racking up 476 million hours of viewing within its first 28 days – a key reason for the strike.

Dax Shepard recently shared with Lauren Graham, a former co-star from their show Parenthood, that he was one of the lowest-paid actors on the NBC drama during its six-season run. He didn’t mention specific salaries or co-stars’ names.

But, the Armchair Expert host stressed that he did not mind.

Before becoming a parent, I always made it a priority to find out how much my colleagues were earning. I’d either ask them directly or discreetly check with my agent to get the information.

I’ve always admired how he deliberately avoided finding out too much about his family’s history with the company. It really allowed him to appreciate the experience, even when he started to get a sense of where he stood in terms of salary and position. It was a smart way to stay focused on enjoying the work itself, rather than getting caught up in comparisons or expectations.

In 2005, George Clooney told the Los Angeles Times that he and Grant Heslov each only made one dollar from their film, Good Night, and Good Luck. Clooney explained he had to cash his check for directing and give up his acting salary to get the movie made. Heslov, who also co-wrote and co-produced the film, did the same.

George Clooney’s passion project, a play about CBS News journalist Edward R. Murrow and his courageous reporting in the 1950s, proved highly successful. Clooney made his Broadway debut playing Murrow, concluding his run in June 2025. Before its official opening on April 3rd, the play earned a record-breaking $3.3 million during previews for a non-musical, demonstrating its significant popularity and financial success – far exceeding a mere $1 in earnings.

Christian Bale revealed in a 2022 interview with GQ that he was paid very little for his role as Patrick Bateman in the 2000 film American Psycho. He explained that the production didn’t initially want to cast him, and it was only due to director Mary Harron’s support that he got the part – and was paid the lowest legally permissible amount.

Bale recounted earning so little money that he recalled makeup artists on set joking that he was paid less than they were.

I was shocked to learn this, but Jon Heder actually said back in 2010 that he only made $1,000 for the original Napoleon Dynamite! Everyone thinks his uncle was involved, but the money part is just crazy to me. He said it was just for the initial payment, but still – a thousand bucks for such an iconic role? It’s wild!

Once the comedy unexpectedly became popular, he successfully asked for a share of the earnings. He told the New Zealand Herald that his request resulted in a slightly better deal.

Despite a successful career with acclaimed films like Amistad and Blood Diamond, Djimon Hounsou believes he doesn’t earn enough money in Hollywood.

The Beninese actor told CNN’s Larry Madowo in January 2025 that despite working in the film industry for over twenty years, and having received two Oscar nominations and starred in numerous blockbuster movies, he continues to struggle financially.

In her 2024 memoir, Rebel Rising, Rebel Wilson revealed she earned $3,500 for her work on Bridesmaids, but the entire amount went to joining the Screen Actors Guild. Essentially, she didn’t receive any money for the film.

Still, she wrote, the experience was “everything!”

The Australian actress’s career soared, and her salary increased dramatically. She earned the standard union minimum of $65,000 for the 2012 film Pitch Perfect, but by 2017’s Pitch Perfect 3, she was commanding $10 million. In total, she made $20 million from Pitch Perfect 3, Isn’t It Romantic, and The Hustle. However, after paying nearly 50% in taxes, 10% to her agents, and 5% to her lawyer, along with other professional fees, she still considered her earnings a huge success.

In late 2017, Ellen Pompeo successfully negotiated a new contract for her role on Grey’s Anatomy. She earned $575,000 per episode, along with a substantial signing bonus and equity in the show worth an estimated $6 to $7 million.

In a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, 48-year-old Pompeo explained that she’s reached a point in her career where she confidently asks for what she’s worth, something she feels comes with experience. She acknowledged the industry often sees her as less ‘relevant’ after playing the same character for 14 years, but countered that while many actors can perform well in a show’s first couple of seasons, maintaining that quality after 14 years demonstrates real talent.

Ellen Pompeo recently thought about the fact that she consistently earned less than her “Grey’s Anatomy” costar, Patrick Dempsey, despite being the show’s namesake. However, she says she doesn’t resent him for it.

In a March 2025 episode of her podcast, Call Her Daddy, she explained that she felt she deserved equal recognition, considering the show was named after her. She wasn’t upset that someone else received success, but rather that her contributions weren’t valued as much, and she believed that would always be the case.

As someone who’s followed Hollywood for years, it’s always fascinating to hear about early paydays! I recently remembered Jamie Lee Curtis talking about her very first movie, the original Halloween back in 1978. She said she earned about $2,000 a week, totaling $8,000 for the whole film. But honestly, she pointed out that back then, practically no one was getting paid much at all – it was a different time!

Although the actress playing Laurie Strode made a good amount of money, director John Carpenter’s friend, Nick Castle, felt like he was living large earning $25 a day to share the role of Michael Myers. (Actually, it’s Anthony Moran whose face you briefly see when the killer’s mask comes off, and editor Tommy Lee Wallace also appeared on screen as Michael.)

Looking back, it was quite an experience! As someone who went to USC film school with John Carpenter, I was really drawn to being on set – I wanted to see how movies were actually made and understand the directing process. Honestly, I figured I’d be there for free, just observing. But, hey, they paid me $25 a day, and all I had to do was wear a rubber mask – I couldn’t have asked for a better deal!

Taraji P. Henson received an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in the 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. However, she was still frustrated years later that she only earned $150,000 for the movie, despite initially requesting $500,000.

In a 2021 interview on the Ladies First With Laura Brown podcast, producer Dede Henson discussed the high salaries of the film’s stars, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. She noted that $20 million paychecks for actors were less common at the time, but she believed Pitt and Blanchett were worth it, stating, “And rightfully so—I’m not saying they shouldn’t have paid Cate and Brad what they deserved.”

Okay, so let me tell you, Taraji just deserved so much more, but she explained that she was bringing a huge draw to the movie – like, she knew she’d sell tickets! She felt like asking for a fair salary was totally reasonable, especially considering how much she’d contribute. Honestly, I was furious when she said they initially offered her only $100,000! Can you believe it?! She ended up getting $150,000, which is better, but she said she still had to, like, humble herself and just accept it. It’s just…ugh, it makes me so mad for her! She’s a queen and deserves everything!

Henson understands some people might think $150,000 is a lot of money, but she wants to clarify where it actually goes. After taxes, she estimates the government will take half, leaving $75,000. Before taxes are even paid, she has to pay her team 30 percent of the original amount. So, after both the team and the government take their shares, she figures she’s left with around $40,000.

Cate Blanchett has earned a substantial income throughout her career, but her role as the elf Galadriel in the hugely successful The Lord of the Rings films – which made $2.9 billion worldwide – wasn’t her sole source of wealth.

When Andy Cohen suggested on Watch What Happens Live in August 2024 that The Lord of the Rings was her most lucrative role, she jokingly replied, “No way!” She explained that the cast didn’t actually earn much money on the film – she essentially only received free food and was allowed to keep her prosthetic ears.

Orlando Bloom, known for his role as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, revealed on The Howard Stern Show in 2023 that he earned only $175,000 for all three films.

Hopefully he also got to keep his ears.

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2026-02-04 00:19