Kushner and Iger buy Lakers for record $12.5 billion

A group led by former Disney chief executive Bob Iger and investor Joshua Kushner agreed to buy a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers from Mark Walter in a deal valuing the franchise at about $12.5 billion, the highest ever for a sports team.

"Owning the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of the great honors of my life — an extraordinary investment, but what I will carry with me is the community, the fans, and a city that treats this team as family," Walter said in a statement.

Walter, the 66-year-old CEO of Guggenheim Partners, bought a majority stake from the Buss family last June at a $10 billion valuation, a record at the time. The sale hands him a $2.5 billion profit after little more than a year, and follows the Boston Celtics' sale at a then-record $6.1 billion months earlier.

The deal lands as federal regulators probe whether private-credit deals involving Walter's companies constituted fraud, and as Kushner and Iger pivot from a bid for a Las Vegas expansion team. It cements the Lakers — which Jerry Buss bought for $67.5 million in 1979 — as the most valuable franchise in American sports.

A $2.5 billion flip in 14 months

Walter, who also owns the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and holds a stake in English Premier League club Chelsea, took control of the Lakers in June 2025. The league said at the time that Jeanie Buss, a daughter of the late Jerry Buss, would remain the team's controlling governor for at least five years; it is unclear whether that arrangement survives the new owners.

Kushner and Iger were among the most serious bidders for an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, according to ESPN, but pivoted to make an aggressive offer for the Lakers. Kushner will be the control person, a representative from his Thrive Capital told Sportico. His firm invested in the San Francisco Giants earlier this year and was in talks to lead the now-scrapped investment into FIFA's $20 billion commercial rights venture.

"As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world," Kushner and Iger said in a joint statement. "Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles."

Iger, 75, is a regular courtside presence at Lakers and Clippers games and worked closely with NBA commissioner Adam Silver while Disney was the league's broadcast partner. He and his wife, Willow Bay, bought NWSL club Angel City FC for $250 million in 2024.

Federal probe hangs over the seller

Walter's decision to sell comes as the Wall Street Journal reported a federal investigation into his financial conglomerate, TWG Global, examining whether private-credit deals involving his companies constituted fraud. His businesses have denied wrongdoing. The Journal also reported Walter suffered a stroke in October 2024, which some in his business have cited as a health concern.

The exact terms of the sale, including how much of the team Kushner and Iger will own and whether Jeanie Buss retains her stake, are not yet disclosed. Sportico values the Lakers at $10 billion, the second-highest in the NBA.

The record price extends a run of escalating valuations across major U.S. sports and signals continued appetite from private capital for premium franchises as alternative investments. The deal also clears a path for another finalist, the Walton Laurie family, to pursue the Las Vegas expansion team that Kushner and Iger had targeted.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.