A $12.5 billion agreement to sell Mark Walter's stake in the Los Angeles Lakers came together in roughly 72 hours in August, according to ESPN interviews with more than a dozen team insiders, league executives and others familiar with the sale. The buyers are a group led by Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger, who was finishing a monthlong European vacation aboard his 213-foot sailing yacht when the deal was struck. News of the agreement broke on Aug. 12.
The sale arrived barely a year after Jeanie Buss negotiated the sale of the Buss family's controlling shares to Walter at a $10 billion valuation, ending 46 years of family ownership. All six siblings eventually voted in favor, but family sources describe a messy process. Younger brothers Joey and Jesse Buss had not responded to the initial vote and had pitched a minority-share sale at a lower valuation. Several siblings also complained that Jeanie Buss never opened the bidding to outside buyers.
The relationships worsened when the team, with Jeanie Buss's approval, fired Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss from their franchise roles within two months of the sale closing. Walter's contract kept Jeanie Buss in charge for five seasons but offered no such protection to other relatives. Janie Buss told ESPN last season she felt like a "crumpled-up piece of paper thrown into the trash." Family members were also charged more for hospitality and tickets shortly before the playoffs.
For much of 2026, Kushner and Iger had led a group bidding on a possible Las Vegas expansion team. The NBA initially projected a price of $6 billion to $8 billion, but bids passed that range and neared $10 billion, with an arena expected to cost at least another $2 billion. As the Aug. 10 bid deadline approached, the two weighed whether an established franchise might be a better fit for Thrive Eternal, Kushner's new fund focused on iconic franchises and cultural institutions. Whatever they tried would have to be quick and quiet.
Walter was at a ranch with poor cell service on Aug. 9 when a friend asked whether the Lakers might be for sale. The answer was no, and it was passed along. Kushner and Iger persisted, however. Two days earlier they had spoken with a financial industry source close to Walter who suggested Walter might be looking to restructure business assets amid federal investigations of alleged fraud within Walter's financial empire, according to sources. Kushner then called with an offer at a $12.5 billion valuation, a 25% increase in 14 months, and a 24-hour window to respond.
Walter returned to a Florida estate and consulted wife Kimbra and daughter Samantha, who raised no objection. Walter had bought the first 27% of the Lakers at a $5 billion valuation in 2021, so the sale would bring a return of nearly $4 billion, plus liquidity tied to remediation plans proposed to state insurance regulators. With no time for due diligence, the buyers took the brand as is. An agreement was reached the evening of Aug. 11.
Jeanie Buss learned of the deal only hours before ESPN's report and was stunned, sources close to Buss said. In 2021, Buss had urged Walter to buy Philip Anschutz's shares, which gave Walter the first right of refusal on the family's controlling stake and effectively made Walter the chosen successor. After last year's sale, Buss said Walter had shown "his commitment to bringing championships to Los Angeles."
The change is especially sensitive for Luka Doncic. Buss showed Doncic and his team the written agreement keeping Buss in charge, according to manager Lara Beth Seager, as reassurance about his basketball future. Doncic already knows how ownership changes can matter after his February 2025 trade from Dallas. With new owners reviewing everything and the Buss siblings' public feud unresolved, the Lakers begin the season with considerable uncertainty.
