Masterclass spent $100,000 building a replica of Bob Iger's office in a conference room because the Disney CEO's real office was too hard to film in, report says

• MasterClass boomed during the pandemic and raised $335 million from investors.
• It wanted to film the Disney CEO in his office as he taught business strategy and leadership, per The Information.

The educational media company MasterClass paid $100,000 to build a replica of Disney CEO Bob Iger's office in a conference room, The Information reported.

MasterClass saw a surge in popularity during the pandemic, with its online video classes taught by celebrities and experts. But subscriber growth has stalled since the lockdowns lifted, and the company has halved its workforce to around 300 over the last 18 months, according to The Information.

Over 13 months from May 2020, MasterClass raised $335 million in funding from investors like Fidelity, per Crunchbase. That valued the company at $2.5 billion, and gave it the capital to attract the likes of Martin Scorsese and Bill Clinton to teach courses.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX founder who has pleaded not guilty to seven criminal charges, also filmed an unreleased MasterClass on crypto.

According to The Information, the typical course costs around $1 million to film and edit, and on-location crews could sometimes involve as many as 70 people.

One class saw Iger teaching business strategy and leadership, which The Information reports cost around $850,000 — minus the cost of hiring the Disney CEO.

MasterClass wanted to film Iger in his office at Disney's headquarters in Burbank, California, but the space was deemed to be a poor logistical fit for a set, per The Information.

So the company decided to spend $100,000 building a replica of Iger's office in a conference room at the Disney complex, which the media conglomerate allowed MasterClass to use rent-free, The Information reported.

MasterClass and Disney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside US working hours.