Buss Family Sells Lakers Stake; Jeanie Out as Governor
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- The Buss family is selling its remaining 17.8% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, per sources who spoke to ESPN on Monday.
- Jeanie Buss will no longer meet the NBA's 15% ownership requirement to remain governor once the sale closes; she has held the role since 2013, taking over after her father Jerry Buss's death.
- The Buss family trust — composed of six siblings (Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey, Jesse) — voted 4-of-6 to invoke the tag-along provision of Mark Walter's sale, which valued the Lakers at $12.5 billion.
- Multiple Buss siblings felt frustrated at Jeanie and misled by her over a prior rushed sale to Walter at a $10 billion valuation, then a record for a U.S. professional sports franchise; all six voted yes, with each pocketing about $500 million after taxes.
- Mark Walter held majority ownership of the Lakers for less than a year and is under federal investigation for alleged tax fraud by other companies tied to the billionaire.
- Kushner and Iger are purchasing roughly 65% of the franchise from Walter; with the Buss family shares, they will own about 83%, pending NBA board of governors approval at the Sept. 15-16 meeting in New York, and Kushner must first sell his limited equity in the Miami Heat.
- Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers from Jack Kent Cooke in May 1979, launching a family ownership era that produced 11 NBA championships — most recently in 2020.
Why it matters: The Lakers — now valued at $12.5 billion after a prior $10 billion deal — will pass to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger at roughly 83% ownership pending NBA board approval at the Sept. 15-16 meeting. Jeanie Buss, governor since 2013, loses her seat the moment the family's 17.8% sale drops her below the NBA's 15% ownership threshold.
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