Disney offered a 13-year-old $2 million to sing in The Lion King—his mom took $100k plus royalties instead. He’s still getting paid 32 years later

Written and edited by the WorldPing NewsdeskPublished Updated Original reporting: Fortune
Disney offered a 13-year-old $2 million to sing in The Lion King—his mom took $100k plus royalties instead. He’s still getting paid 32 years laterWorldPing
Image via Fortune.

What happened

Jason Weaver's mom once backed Aretha Franklin.She bet on royalties over Disney's cash—and it's paid more than the $2 million he gave up…

Key facts

  • Jason Weaver's mom once backed Aretha Franklin.She bet on royalties over Disney's cash—and it's paid more than the $2 million he gave up…
  • Reported by Fortune and published Fri, 09 Oct 2026 07:00:00 UTC.

Why it matters

Economic releases and corporate results feed directly into rate expectations, currency moves and equity pricing, so the detail here often matters more to markets than the headline itself.

What to watch next

  • Revisions to the initial figures once fuller data is released
  • How rate expectations and index futures respond
  • Guidance or commentary from the companies and policymakers involved

Coverage timeline

When each newsroom published on this story, oldest first — all times UTC.

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  2. Disney offered a 13-year-old $2 million to sing in The Lion King—his mom took $100k plus royalties instead. He’s still getting paid 32 years later

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Sources

The original report was published by Fortune. WorldPing does not claim that reporting — this page summarises and contextualises it.

Read the full report at Fortune

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