Yeah, but it doesn't work quite that way.
1 - They had to buy all that stock - money isn't normally free.. someone is fronting that or wanting something in return. This could also be leveraged from other assets.
2 - Think of all the money they spent on their campaign. DIS has over 800k shareholders... Even if you only spent a dollar on each one... you're pushing a million dollar budget. All the hustling they did, all the firms they hired, all the materials they sent out.. I bet they spent millions. Think how many lawyers, bankers, PR people, finance people were all involved... with their hand out too. Then think of all the swooning that had to happen when you are talking top tier investors.. you don't do that in the amtrak train station
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It's big money being spent on this stuff, but they also try to make big money. They make money through the hustle and try to cash out - They need the cash for the next hustle. They don't usually get to sit and keep all the stock they bought for leverage ('you can't keep 'em all').
The best outcome for them is the rise in stock price and then selling that back off to be liquid for the next "opportunity". They make money through price pumping, buyouts, and selling off assets... not building a portfolio.
These guys spend like crazy because the upside is so good. You don't swing a billion (or even 800M) around to make $1-2 million...
This is a pretty major defeat for them to not get any direct payout. Right now their upside really is just the stock appreciation which they'll turn around and start bleeding off to cash out if they can't get anyone to take their slot.