Heiress and shareholder Abigail Disney on how to bring magic back to capitalism

Abigail Disney, a grandniece of Walt Disney and shareholder successful the media giant, went viral backmost successful 2019 erstwhile she criticized former CEO Bob Iger's $66 cardinal compensation package. Ever since, the Disney heiress — who is simply a documentary filmmaker and societal activistic — has utilized her transportation with the institution to marque the lawsuit for broader changes successful firm America related to the wage fairness issue, and to redefine occurrence successful a firm context.

"How tin you telephone a institution palmy erstwhile radical are suffering?" Disney precocious told CNBC's Julia Boorstin astatine the ESG Impact virtual summit. "Part of the occupation of this is successful however we specify the thought of what a palmy institution is, and if we pushed quality involvement to the halfway of our acceptable of calculations astir the well-being of a company, we would consciousness precise otherwise astir Disney arsenic a palmy company." 

Disney, who precocious released the documentary, "The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales," said she thinks of ESG arsenic 1 facet of a overmuch larger acceptable of principles that find however a institution operates and find what it tin and cannot do.  

"It's besides a question of helping companies bash the close thing," Disney said. 

Worker issues are, successful fact, the No. 1 ESG theme, according to polling of the American public. The polling finds that paying a just and surviving wage is the single-most important contented for Americans erstwhile asked what they privation to spot companies do.

Disney doesn't bargain the statement that the marketplace dictates wages. "The marketplace is simply a spot of a yardstick, but it's not truly dictating anything," she said. "These are boards of directors that are populated by radical who are CEOs oregon would similar immoderate time to beryllium CEOs and are loyal to the people ... they place with the CEO," she said.

A Disney spokesperson said successful an emailed connection to CNBC, "Our astonishing Cast Members, storytellers, and employees are the bosom and psyche of Disney, and their wellbeing is our apical priority." The Disney spokesperson cited "competitive wage and starring introduction wages," affordable aesculapian coverage, entree to tuition-free higher education, and subsidized kid attraction for eligible employees.

Just Capital, the ESG probe nonprofit that produces the polling of the American nationalist connected firm issues of importance, ranks Disney No. 1 among media companies wide successful its yearly ranking of the apical 100 companies, but its lowest class people is workers, wherever Disney ranks 10th among 15 media companies.

In March, Disney shareholders voted successful favor of a connection for greater transparency connected wage data, including information related to contention and gender, a uncommon nonaccomplishment for Disney absorption successful a proxy conflict which garnered enactment from 60% of stockholders. According to a June nonfiction from amusement work The Wrap, Abigail Disney is gearing up for different shareholder combat adjacent twelvemonth against the wage of existent Disney CEO Bob Chapek, whose compensation doubled past twelvemonth to $32.5 million.

Disney, who told the FT successful 2019 that she had a nett worthy of $120 cardinal and called herself a "traitor" to her class, doesn't deliberation that the thought of wealthiness redistribution is necessary.

"I don't deliberation we request to bash redistribution. But I deliberation we request to deliberation much cautiously astir pre-distribution, and possibly businesses request to beryllium taking little arsenic owners and seeing the workers arsenic their existent partners who merit to enactment successful profits conscionable arsenic deeply," she said. "Capitalism is the invisible manus that creates a benignant of magical surplus erstwhile it's worked right. And it tin inactive bash that, without being this, you know, predatory entity that it has become," she added.  

Watch the ESG Impact video beneath for much of the Disney heiress and shareholder's views connected CEO compensation and idiosyncratic pay.