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The August 12 acquisition of the LA Lakers franchise by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger from Mark Walter for a record-breaking $12.5 billion pertains only to the majority shares of Walter.
Walter, who still owns the back-to-back major-league baseball champion LA Dodgers, became the Lakers’ majority owner on October 30, 2025, when a June deal with the Buss family was unanimously approved by the NBA Board of Governors.
The Buss family, which sold to Walter its controlling stake in the team a year ago for a then-record $10 billion, retains a minority share of the franchise at just over 15 percent.
Part of the deal was Jeanie Buss, the eldest daughter of the late Jerry Buss (who bought the Lakers franchise, hockey’s LA Kings and 13,000-acre estate in 1979 for $67.5 million and died in 2013), being retained as the Lakers’ representative on the NBA Board of Governors for five years.
The new ownership group will honor the agreement.
The deal between the 41-year-old Kushner and the 75-year-old Bob Iger and Walter took just three business days to consummate.
Walter, who earned $2.5 billion from the sale, may have been forced to give up his Lakers ownership as he is under federal investigation for alleged tax fraud by other companies tied to the 66-year-old billionaire, amounting to $16 billion.
Earlier, Kushner and Iger, who once claimed he was an LA Clippers fan because ticket prices were a lot cheaper, were reportedly interested in bringing an expansion franchise to Las Vegas. Las Vegas and Seattle are seeking an expansion franchise, but serious talks on any expansion may yet come in a year or two.
On August 17, the Buss family sold its remaining 17.8-percent stake in the Lakers franchise to the Kushner and Iger group.
It was the final nail in the proverbial coffin, signaling the end of the 47-year Buss era that started in 1979, when the family’s late father, Jerry Buss, acquired the franchise.
With it, the Kushner and Iger group now has a controlling stake of 83 percent in the Lakers franchise.
Furthermore, Jeanie Buss, the eldest daughter of Jerry Buss, now has to relinquish her seat as the Lakers’ representative on the NBA Board of Governors.
Under league rules, minority owners are required to have at least a 15-percent stake in a team to be eligible to serve on the NBA Board.
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