Buss Family Selling Lakers’ Ownership To Josh Kushner, Bob Iger

The Buss family is selling their remaining ownership stakes in the Lakers to the new majority owners.

The family, which has had ownership stakes in the Lakers since the late Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the franchise in 1979, is selling its remaining ownership stake in the franchise to businessman Josh Kushner and former The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger.

“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction,” the family said in a statement to ESPN. “We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”

Kushner and Iger have an agreement to buy the majority ownership of the Lakers from Mark Walter at a historic valuation of $12.5 billion.

The Buss family agreed to sell the majority ownership of the Lakers to Walter, who is also the majority owner of the Dodgers, in June 2025 in a deal that became official last October at a valuation of $10 billion, which at the time was the largest sale ever of a U.S. pro sports franchise. 

Once the sale is official, Jeanie Buss will no longer be able to be the Lakers Governor.

She’s been the franchise’s Governor after her father died in February 2013.

The NBA requires that all Governors have an ownership stake of at least 15% of the franchise to be in the role.

The Buss family’s remaining shares in the Lakers was close to 18% of the franchise.

When Walter purchased the majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family, the league announced that Buss would remain the team’s Governor for a period of at least five years.

Iger told the California Post last week he and Kushner intended to honor the agreement made between Walter and Buss. 

“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.”

Things changed.

The Buss family trust, which includes six of Jerry Buss’ children – Jeanie, Johnny, Jim, Janie, Joey and Jesse – needed a majority vote (four out of six) to allow the trustees to sell their shares.

Now, the trustees will execute the sale.

ESPN reported Jeanie didn’t vote to sell the family’s ownership stake in the Lakers, while the other five siblings in the trust did.

Kushner and Iger are buying around 65% of the Lakers in their deal with Walter, meaning they’ll own around 83% of the franchise once the sales are official.

Walter, who’s the CEO of Guggenheim Partners and TWG Global, will wind up being the majority owner of the Lakers for less than a year.

The news of him selling the Lakers came amid a federal investigation into Walter and some of his business practices. It was recently reported that the FBI seized Walter’s phone and laptop, as well as a top Guggenheim Investments executive last year.

That news prompted speculation that the Lakers sale was a quick way to liquify assets for any potential legal troubles facing Walter.

Walter and his business partner, Todd Boehly, are looking to sell their minority ownership stakes in Chelsea Football Club to majority owner Clearlake Capital, the Financial Times reported Monday.

It could take several weeks, or months, before the sales of the Lakers are official.

The transactions still need to be approved by the league’s Board of Governors, with the next board meeting scheduled for mid-September in New York.

Kushner also must sell his minority ownership stake in the Heat before he can officially become the Lakers’ co-majority owner.

The Buss family has owned the Lakers since May 1979, when Jerry Buss bought the franchise from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million. The deal also included the NHL’s Kings and the Forum in Inglewood.

Buss sold the Kings to Bruce McNall in 1988, and sold the Forum in 1999 ahead of the Lakers’ move to Staples Center (now known as Crypto.com Arena).

The Lakers have won 11 championships since Jerry Buss purchased the franchise 1979, which is the most by any NBA team during that span.