Josh Kushner and Bob Iger to Buy the Lakers for Over $12 Billion
Josh Kushner and Bob Iger are buying the Los Angeles Lakers for more than $12 billion, setting a record for the sale of a sports franchise, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
The deal brings a swift second ownership change to one of basketball's most decorated clubs. Billionaire Mark Walter, CEO and chairman of the holding company TWG Global, purchased a majority stake from the Buss family in 2025 in a deal that valued the Lakers at $10 billion. The NBA's board of governors unanimously approved that sale in October (ESPN). Now, less than a year later, Kushner and Iger are set to take the reins at a roughly $2 billion premium.
Kushner, 41, is the founder and managing partner of Thrive Capital, the venture capital firm known for its early bets on Silicon Valley giants. He also co-founded the health-insurance startup Oscar Health. Iger, 75, ended his second stint as CEO of Disney this year, handing the role to Josh D'Amaro. In 2024, Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, became controlling owners of Angel City FC of the NWSL (ESPN).
The two had been circling the NBA through the league's expansion process in Las Vegas, exploring a bid for a new franchise partly funded by Thrive Eternal, a company Kushner's firm created to invest in iconic brands (Los Angeles Times). Instead, they pivoted to an aggressive offer for the Lakers — a franchise with 17 NBA championships, trailing only the Boston Celtics, and a roster now led by Slovenian superstar Luka Dončić after the team recently parted ways with LeBron James (The Guardian).
Kushner and Iger said in a statement: "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" (The Guardian).
Walter, 66, also issued a statement on Wednesday thanking the Buss family, the players, the staff, and Lakers fans (The Guardian). His tenure, if brief, was preceded by a sprawling portfolio: through TWG Global, Walter holds interests in the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Sparks, Premier League club Chelsea, the Professional Women's Hockey League, and Cadillac's Formula 1 team (ESPN).
That empire is now under scrutiny. Bloomberg reported in July that federal prosecutors in Manhattan are examining whether two insurers controlled by Walter — Delaware Life Insurance Co. and Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co. — failed to disclose that their private credit holdings backed other Walter-controlled ventures. The Securities and Exchange Commission is running a parallel investigation (ESPN).
For a franchise that last won it all in 2020 and has now changed hands twice in two seasons, the $12 billion question is whether new ownership can build a contender around Dončić. The ink is barely dry, and the spotlight is already burning.
