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Jeffrey Katzenberg




At 14, Katzenberg worked on John Lindsay ’s campaign for New York City Mayor. Katzenberg just wanted to be involved and was soon trusted to handle the campaign cash. A monetary scandal involving Lindsay placed Katzenberg, Lindsay’s unofficial treasurer, under investigation. No charges were ever filed and Katzenberg left politics for show business.

Katzenberg tried being a talent agent briefly, but in '' ( 1979 ). He continued to work his way up and became President of Production under Chief Operating Officer Michael Eisner .

In '' ( 1988 ), '' The Little Mermaid '' ( 1989 ), '' Beauty And The Beast '' ( 1991 , the first animated feature to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture), '' Aladdin '' ( 1992 ), and '' The Lion King '' ( 1994 ), the highest domestic grossing animated film of all time until 2003 . He also sealed the deal that created the highly successful partnership between Pixar and Disney.

When Disney’s second in command, Frank Wells , died in a helicopter crash, Eisner refused to promote Katzenberg. When Katzenberg pushed the issue, Eisner fired him. Katzenberg launched a lawsuit against Disney to recover money he felt he was owed and settled out of court for an estimated $100 - $250 million (the actual amount remains secret).

In 1994 , Katzenberg co-founded DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg , and is CEO of DreamWorks Animation, Inc., the animation unit of DreamWorks SKG. From his ventures, Katzenberg has gained an estimated worth of $800 million according to '' Forbes '' magazine.


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