Nelson Peltz launches Restore the Magic campaign to take on Bob Iger at Disney

Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, has set his sights on Disney in what is shaping up to a spectacular boardroom battle for one of America's most celebrated companies. 

Peltz is already an investor in the entertainment behemoth, but after accusing it of wasting money over the last few years while battling a super-woke reputation that is turning families off, he now wants to be involved. 

On Thursday, Peltz - whose daughter Nicole is married to Brooklyn Beckham - launched an all-out assault on the company with a MAGA-style campaign called 'Restore The Magic'. 

Across dedicated pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and in an SEC filing, Peltz promised to bring 'leadership mentality' to the Disney boardroom - currently ruled over by Bob Iger.

Nelson Pelz on CNBC this morning laying out his case for Disney. In SEC filings, he says he can bring a 'leadership mentality' to the company that he says has been wasting money 

Disney CEO Bob Iger has not yet responded publicly to Peltz's bid for a board seat 

For too long, he said the company has been guilty of 'poor governance' and giving out 'over the top' compensation packages. 

Peltz - who is worth $1.4billion and currently owns 0.5 percent of Disney through his firm Trian Partners - is known for his no-nonsense approach and isn't shy of a forceful entry onto a company board. 

In an interview on CNBC's Squawk Street on Thursday after filing his SEC paperwork, he was playful when asked about his intentions for Disney. 

 'Why not? We've got skin in the game,' the 80-year-old business titan said. 

Disney hasn't yet responded publicly to his request but Peltz claims the company offered him a 'watching' board seat - an offer he turned down. 

'They said, "you can be in the meetings". So they want my input on operations but they don't want my input on corporate governance . 

'That's why they don't want me to have a vote that says that they believe even that I have something to add.'

For the last three years, the once untarnished company has gone down in the estimations of most Americans for cowing to woke activism. 

It applied warnings to classic movies that it now deems offensive to audiences, stripped Minnie Mouse of her skirt and replaced it with a pantsuit at its Paris theme park, and it threatened to pull out of the state of Florida in protest over local politicians and their approach to gender and sexuality laws. 

Peltz's Trian Partners launched an all-out assault on Disney today with a website and multiple social media pages dedicated to his bid for a board seat 

The presentations and websites detailed how Disney was underperforming the S&P 500 - which is an index average of 500 other American companies 

Trian says it's not looking to replace Bob Iger immediately, but wants to in two years 

The Trian bid launched a Twitter account, a Facebook page and an Instagram page 

Trian's SEC filing on Thursday morning which formally requests a seat on the board for Peltz

While Peltz is yet to go against Disney's outright wokery, he has cautioned companies against making political statements in the past and 'poor corporate governance' is among his major complaints.  

In the past, Peltz has raged at the CEO of Unilever for one of its brand's, Ben & Jerry's, and its decision to stop selling ice cream in Palestine in a protest over its conflict with Israel. 

According to the FT, Peltz warned Unilever's CEO Alan Jope 'no company has any place making these kinds of political statements.' 

Peltz had quietly built-up a healthy 1.5%  stake in Unilever. After he joined the board, shares in the company rose. 

Peltz said on Thursday that he'd been left disappointed with Disney's books over the last several years, and thinks he can whip it into shape. 

'We look at a company and we see that this is the most advantaged consumer company on the planet. And we love it. That's the reason why we're here.

'However, the total shareholder return, over 1,3,5,10 years has materially underperformed the S&P and underperformed the proxy peers that the company has selected.

'They eliminated the dividend that was in effect for 57 years. Fifty-seven years of a dividend and now it's gone.

'And now they want to tell us everything is going to be great again. We think we can help. We have a record of helping.

'On every board that I have served on - and I've served on more boards than anyone I know - that company has outperformed the S&P by 900 basis points annually.

'I just need to speak reasonably to these people and explain to them where they went wrong or what opportunities they’re missing,' he said. 

While Peltz may paint his offer of advice as a friendly one, past colleagues described him as 'relentless'. 

'Peltz has a piratical charm and a velvet glove. But don’t mistake the iron fist. He is relentless in pursuit of his own objective, which is value creation. 

'He always prefers to win you over through his enthusiasm and optimism 

'But as any true East New York kid, he won’t shy from a fight if it is the only way forward,' Roger Carr of Cadbury's told the FT. 

Business titan Peltz, 80, is worth an estimated $1.8billion. He is known for picking underperforming companies, inserting himself in them to make them more profitable, and then selling his shares 

Peltz with his daughter, Nicola, 28, and 67-year-old wife Claudia 

Nicola is now married to Brooklyn Beckham. They are shown in Hollywood last night 

Peltz convinced Cadbury's to split its drinks from its confectionary. He performed similar turnarounds at Snapple, Heinz and Procter & Gamble. 

In his rebuke of Disney, he said he was turned off by the 'over the top' compensation packages of some of its top executives. 

His business mantra is 'sales up, expenses down' - according to the FT, he has the saying printed on mugs at Trian, his firm. 

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Peltz explained that the companies Trian is interested in are 'boring'. 

He is turned off by the virtue-signaling, culture-shaping titans of the tech world, and says he's more interested in operations and cash.

'Even though we're going to be in a recession, I think cash flow, stability, good quality companies are going be valued once again when this is all over. 

'Those are the kind of companies that we invest in. 

'They're boring companies, but they're really wonderful companies that generate cash,' he said. 

It might come as no coincidence that Peltz's daughter, Brooklyn's wife Nicola, is an aspiring actress. 

Her most recent role is in Welcome to Chippendales, a series by Disney-owned streaming giant Hulu.