3. The Giving Soul of Walt
When Walt died he had quite the estate to leave to his family. But 25% of it was passed on to CalArts to help the private university grow. Alumni from the now prestigious school include John Lasseter, Tim Burton, Don Cheadle, Alison Brie, Paul Reubens, Ed Harris, David Hasselhoff, Katey Sagal, Sofia Coppola, and Stephen Hillenburg to name just a few. Many of the named graduates have worked for Walt’s company at some point in their career, and many more unnamed alumni have been integral in the growth of the company. Walt made an investment in the future of people and it obviously paid off.