
18. Disney
The Walt Disney Company is one of few multinationals that came into being long before the digital era’s advent. Walt Disney was only 16 when he quit school to enlist in the army but was turned down due to being underage. The rejection spurred him to set up the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio along with his brother Roy in October 1923.
Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, renamed Walt Disney Company in 1986, initially operated out of Walt’s uncle Robert Disney’s garage in Los Angeles. At the beginning of 1923, animator Walt Disney had established a company named ‘Laugh-O-Gram Studio’ that left him bankrupt. He shifted to Hollywood to join forces with Roy. Despite being a mediocre cartoonist, Walt was farsighted and insightful enough to realize what would keep the masses entertained well ahead of time.
He made cartoon films riveting by judiciously blending live-action with animation; exemplified by ‘Steamboat Willie,’ the first-ever animated film. Currently, Walt Disney Company is a diversified entertainment and mass media corporation with its headquarters in Burbank, California. After entrenching its position as the foremost animation company, Walt Disney Company diversified its profile because of a desire to expand. This billion-dollar company has theme parks, television, videogames, publishing, radio, web portals, and broadcasting. The business’ annual revenues stood at $69.57 billion, with total assets valued at $193.98 billion as a result of their worldwide success.