Lakers Sold for Record $12.5bn to Kushner and Iger
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- Los Angeles Lakers to be sold for a reported record-breaking $12.5bn (£9.3bn) — less than a year after Mark Walter took a majority stake in the NBA franchise
- Josh Kushner (brother of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared) and former Disney CEO Bob Iger buying the controlling interest from Walter
- Walter's prior deal, an estimated $10bn purchase from the Buss family, was unanimously approved by the NBA Board of Governors in October 2025 and was itself a previous record; Walter also owns a stake in the LA Dodgers with Todd Boehly
- Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5m in a package that included the LA Kings hockey team and the Kia Forum arena; ownership passed to his six children after his 2013 death
- Josh Kushner was part of the recent controversy surrounding FIFA president Gianni Infantino and an aborted plan to sell stakes in FIFA competitions to private investors via the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, with Kushner's firm Thrive Eternal expected to lead the investor group
- The Lakers hold 17 NBA titles — one fewer than the Boston Celtics' record 18 — and lost LeBron James in the summer, leaving Luka Doncic as the team's main star
Why it matters: The $12.5bn price tag sets a new record for a sports franchise sale, eclipsing Walter's $10bn deal from roughly ten months ago and marking an appreciation of roughly 185x from Jerry Buss's 1979 $67.5m purchase. For the NBA, the sale resets the ceiling for controlling-stake transactions in elite franchises and anchors Kushner and Iger as the new face of one of the league's most valuable properties.
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