Lakers sold for record-breaking $12.5 billion: Everything to know about Josh Kushner, Bob Iger’s purchase

The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold again. Barely a year after Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter purchased the historic franchise for a then-record price of $10 billion, he is selling it to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for $12.5 billion, according to ESPN. 

Kushner and Iger, the former CEO of Disney, had been exploring ownership of an expansion franchise in Las Vegas, but have instead pivoted to take control of the Lakers. Reportedly, neither the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks nor the Dodgers are part of the sale, which still needs to be approved by the NBA’s board of governors. 

“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 wrote in a statement. “We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. 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.”

Kushner, the younger brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared, was previously a minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies and bought less than a 5% stake in the Miami Heat last year. His wife, supermodel Karlie Kloss, has a limited partnership stake in the WNBA’s New York Liberty.

Walter facing investigation

Walter, who owns MLB‘s Los Angeles Dodgers, the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and the entire PWHL, is also the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, an investment and wealth management firm based in New York City. In July, Bloomberg reported that last year, “federal prosecutors in Manhattan began examining Guggenheim’s $362 billion money management arm.” Regulators are reportedly investigating whether Walter and Guggenheim properly disclosed billions of dollars of loans.

The FBI and Securities Exchange Commission are working in conjunction on the investigation, which also involves two of Walter’s insurance companies, Delaware Life Insurance Co. and Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co. 

The investigation was opened due to an internal whistleblower complaint, per the Wall Street Journal. Here’s more from the WSJ:

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and the Securities and Exchange Commission are now examining how around $16 billion in loans extended to companies tied to Walter or his conglomerate, TWG Global, wound up on the books of insurance companies he owns after passing through a third entity, the people familiar with the matter said. The authorities are trying to determine whether the activity constituted fraud, one of the people said.

“Such related-party transactions must be disclosed to insurance regulators, a rule meant to limit conflicts of interest and protect policyholders. Walter’s insurance firms said in recent filings that they had reviewed their transactions after receiving subpoenas and had identified problems with how certain transactions were presented.”

In a statement to the WSJ, a TWG spokesperson said that, “Mark Walter and TWG have always acted in good faith, and those who have done business with Mark know him as honest and straightforward. Nothing about these transactions was any different.”

Meanwhile, TWG has been trying to raise cash to help pay down some of those loans, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, describing them as “aggressive efforts to reduce the affiliated loans on the balance sheet of its insurers or to restructure some of them.”

How the deal came together

The deal came together in a matter of days, Iger confirmed on Wednesday, after they were tipped off that Walter could be persuaded to sell the Lakers.

“We were involved in pursuing the new franchise in Vegas,” Iger told the California Post. “And while that happened, it was suggested to us that maybe Mark Walter would be interested in selling his stake in the Lakers. And we immediately decided that, given the value of the franchise and the iconic nature of the team, that we would be really smart to pursue it. The deal came together in three days.”

In the span of 14 months, Walter flipped the Lakers for $2.5 billion more than he paid.

Lakers heading in new direction on the court, too

Outside of the owners’ suite, the Lakers are also undergoing changes on the court. 

Most notably, LeBron James left in free agency after eight seasons with the organization to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, turning the team over to Luka Dončić. Together with Austin Reaves and recently acquired big man Walker Kessler, Dončić will try to lead the Lakers back into title contention. 

Since their last championship in 2020, the Lakers have only won three playoff series and have advanced past the second round just once. Given the questions about their depth and the greatness of the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs at the top of the Western Conference, Dončić has a tall task in front of him. The Lakers currently have the sixth-best odds (+2500, per FanDuel) to win the West.

In addition to trading two unprotected first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps for Kessler, the Lakers also signed Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Kevon Looney and Matisse Thybulle as free agents and selected Cameron Carr in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft. 

Barring any other moves, here’s a look at their depth chart heading into the season:

Lakers’ depth chart

What are key figures saying about the sale?

Lakers legend Magic Johnson promised fans that Iger will return the Lakers to glory.  

“Laker fans, you couldn’t have two better owners. I’ve known Bob personally for over 40 years – he has always loved the Lakers and basketball and he will bring championships back to LA,” Johnson wrote on social media. 

Dončić also said he wants to build “something special” with Kushner and Iger. 

“Being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA,” Dončić wrote. I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise. I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together.”

Lakers ownership history

While most people know the Lakers did not start in Los Angeles, few are aware that the franchise’s origins trace back to Detroit. The franchise was founded as the Detroit Gems in 1946 by Morris Winston and C. King Boring, and originally played in the National Basketball League. (The NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA in 1949.) Lacking an arena, they played most of the games during their inaugural 4-40 season at high school gyms. 

After the 1946-47 season, Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen bought the franchise for $15,000 (Dončić will make 10 times that figure per quarter this season), moved it to Minneapolis and changed the name to the Lakers. For a brief period, general manager Max Winter and star center George Mikan (while he was playing) also owned part of the franchise. Mikan led the Lakers to six titles in Minneapolis — one in the NBL, which is not recognized as one of the Lakers’ 17 titles, one in the BAA and four in the NBA, all of which are counted in their franchise history. After he retired, he attempted to buy the franchise in order to prevent it from being moved. Short of the $150,000 Berger was asking, Mikan planned to mortgage his home to get the money. 

Instead, Berger sold the Lakers in 1957 to a massive group of more than 100 investors led by Minnesota businessman Bob Short. Within a year, Short had taken control of 80% of the franchise by buying out the other investors. The original sale agreement called for the Lakers to remain in Minneapolis, but due to poor attendance and financial issues, Short moved the team to Los Angeles in 1960. 

Five years later, Short sold the Lakers for a record price of $5.175 million to Canadian-American businessman and Washington NFL owner Jack Kent Cooke. Under Cooke’s leadership, the Lakers moved into the Great Western Forum (which would be their home until 1999) and won their first title in Los Angeles in 1972.

History of Lakers’ sales

Cooke’s tenure lasted until 1979, when, short on money due to a divorce, he sold the Lakers, the NHL‘s Los Angeles Kings and The Forum to Dr. Jerry Buss for $67.5 million. The Lakers accounted for $16 million of that cost. Buss turned the Lakers into one of the league’s most popular and successful franchises. Between 1979 and Buss’ death in 2013, the Lakers won 10 titles and boasted superstars such as Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. 

Jeanie Buss took over for her father after his death and the Buss family maintained control of the franchise until 2025, when Walter bought it for a then-record price of $10 billion. The deal, which allowed the Buss family to maintain a 15% stake and called for Jeanie to continue as the team’s governor, was not approved until Oct. 30, 2025, which meant Walter spent less than a year as the majority owner before selling to Kushner and Iger for a new record price of $12.5 billion. 

“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. “I am grateful to Jeanie Buss, the Buss family, the players, and the staff for welcoming me into this chapter. The Lakers belong to Los Angeles, and I have every confidence the best is still ahead.”

Iger said that the new ownership group will honor Walter’s original deal with Jeanie Buss and that she will stay on as governor for at least five years after that 2025 sale. 

“We have enormous respect and appreciation for Jeanie, her father and what they’ve contributed to this franchise,” Iger told the Post. “And we have every intention to honor the agreement that was made between Mark and Jeanie. If things change, they’ll change, but we’re going into this with enormous respect and appreciation for who she is and what she represents in the organization.”