What $12.5 billion can buy

A little over a year ago, Mark Walter paid a record $10 billion to purchase a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers, effectively ending the more than 40 years of the Buss family ownership. Jeannie Buss retains a minority share of the franchise, and the sale included a stipulation that she remains as the team’s governor for at least five years.

With Walter calling the shots, it was supposed to lead the Lakers to a new phase, hoping to align with the trajectory of the three-peat seeking LA Dodgers of the MLB, of which he also owns, as well as the LA Sparks of the WNBA and football’s Chelsea FC of the EPL. But then again, LA’s flagship franchise are being sold.

This time, Walter is selling the team to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Joshua Kushner for a record $12.5 billion. The sale only involves Walter’s share with the Lakers but does not affect his shares with the Dodgers and Sparks. If approved by the league, this will be the most expensive valuation in professional sports history. Buss’ role with the team stays, as per Iger.

As reported, Walter was not looking to sell but the offer from Iger and Kushner was too good to ignore. However, the timing of the sale invites controversy as currently, Walter is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission whether his two insurance companies, Delaware Life Insurance Co. and Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co. are involved in some financial irregularities.

This is not Iger’s first investment with professional sports as in the summer of 2024, he and his wife Willow bought a controlling interest in Angel City FC of the women’s pro football league. As Disney’s CEO, he oversaw operations at ESPN, bought Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and majority of 20th Century Fox. Willow, a TV anchor for CNN, ABC and NBC, is not new to pro basketball as she hosted NBA Inside Stuff in the 1990s.

Kushner once owned a share with the Memphis Grizzlies and is a minority owner with the Miami Heat, of which he will relinquish if the sale with the Lakers is finalized. Thrive Eternal, an investment company he founded, bought a non-controlling interest last April in MLB’s San Francisco Giants.

Recently, he was in the news as Thrive Eternal was supposed to be the lead investor in Gianni Infantino’s proposed FIFA commercialization deal which quickly backfired and has placed Infantino’s FIFA presidency in the balance.

Iger and Kushner initially were interested in an NBA Las Vegas expansion team but were attracted to the much brighter lights of LA. The Lakers could be in a period of uncertainty as Iger is a self-declared LA Clippers fan but as the incoming new Laker owner, his actions will determine the path the team will be going.

The things money can buy.