Billionaire Nelson Peltz, who is Wendy’s chairman and its largest shareholder, charged the fast-food giant nearly $600,000 in “security-related expenses” last year, according securities filings.
In a little-noticed disclosure last spring, Wendy’s noted in a 116-page proxy statement that the board of directors approved reimbursement to Peltz for the $596,467 that the hard-charging investor billed for his “independent professional security consulting firm,” according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Disney shareholder Blackwells Capital, which goes by the name “Future of Disney” on X, wrote to the platform on Thursday: “Who knew that hamburgers could be so dangerous! Is this how Peltz plans to perform for @Disney shareholders?”
The post took a jab at Peltz’s recent proxy campaign against Disney in his quest to nab a board seat for himself and former Disney executive Jay Rasulo — who would replace Disney directors Michael Froman and Maria Elena Lagomasino.
Peltz’s investment firm, Trian Fund Management, owns a roughly 19.35% stake in Wendy’s, according to regulatory filings.
Representatives for Peltz at Trian declined to comment.
The Post has also sought comment from Wendy’s.
Peltz has been pressuring Disney in an effort to make its streaming business rake in Netflix-like profits, have its movies perform better in the box office and to bolster EPSN as a digital platform.
Mouse House boss Bob Iger has pushed back, making big bets on Taylor Swift, video games and football — investments he claims will fuel “significant growth” as the entertainment behemoth scrambles to recover from years of lackluster results.
The move will see Disney dishing out $1.5 billion to Epic Games in return for an equity stake in the company, which would give Disney access to its portfolio of video games — including “Fortnite,” which boasts more than 100 million active monthly users, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Disney also revealed plans to bolster its struggling sports division with the long-anticipated streaming launch of the flagship ESPN sports network — which will be bundled with Disney+ and Hulu and integrate features such as ESPN Bet, fantasy sports, and e-commerce.
Iger said last week that the venture is expected to launch come August 2025.
Peltz bashed the investment plan, calling it a “spaghetti against the wall plan,” in a letter sent to the entertainment and media giant’s shareholders on Monday.
“Disney shareholders need the company to consistently perform under the watchful eye of a vigilant Board. That is the recipe for good eating,” wrote Trian, which has been feuding with Disney for more than a year.
Peltz’s Trian Fund Management is Disney’s largest active shareholder, owning $3 billion of common stock in the struggling company.
Disney has set a shareholder meeting for April 3 for when investors will get to decide on who will guide the company’s future.
Iger’s current contract — which includes a hefty pay package that totaled $31.6 million last year — runs through 2026.
Peltz and Pasulo have said that they want to “finally complete a successful CEO succession,” referring to Iger’s consistent delaying of his retirement date and his return to run the company after the firing of former CEO Bob Chapek in 2022.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
