Last Days of The Lion King.

This article focuses on the resignation of Michael Eisner, chief executive of Walt Disney Co.. Nudged to retire before he was ready to leave, Eisner, 63, recently landed in Hong Kong for one of his last official acts. He had his key supporters at his side--his wife of 38 years, one of his three sons, his sister and his best friend from childhood--all there as he capped off 21 years as Disney's chief executive. Two weeks before his resignation became official on Oct. 1, he cut the ribbon and unveiled the company's 11th theme park, Hong Kong Disneyland, opening a gateway to China and vast growth in the years ahead. The past six years have been tumultuous and difficult with Disney's stock dropping 3.7% per year compared with an annual drop of 1.5% for the Dow Index. He leaves at least a year earlier than planned, after weathering criticism from the late founder's nephew and being pressured out of the chairman's title by his own handpicked board. As he plots his next move, he looks at what his pal Barry Diller has built at InterActive Corp. and at what Terry Semel is doing at Yahoo and mulls a new entertainment venture. He starts with $750 million in personal net worth. In 1984 he arrived at Disney, a fabled but faltering company that was sleeping beautifully, 18 years after the death of its founder. He had been recruited by Roy Disney--the same man who just spent two years trying to fire him. But Eisner also earned a rep for hubris. In his last days at Disney Eisner told insiders he wanted no tributes, no dinner parties, no celebrations on Main Street. What he wants most is the divine retribution that will come if his next venture is half as successful as this one has been.