Los Angeles Lakers Sold to Mark Walter in Record $10B Deal - He’s a Newport Summer Resident

Los Angeles Lakers Sold to Mark Walter in Record $10B Deal - He’s a Newport Summer Resident

In a record transaction that has sent shockwaves through the sports world, the Buss family has agreed to sell majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers to Mark Walter, the principal owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and CEO of TWG Global, at a record-setting franchise valuation of $10 billion.

This deal marks the largest sale of a professional sports team in U.S. history, surpassing the previous record set by the Boston Celtics earlier this year of $6.1 billion.

Walter is a Newport, Rhode Island, summer resident. And, he is the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, an investment firm with more than $345 billion under management.

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The End of an Era: Buss Family Legacy

The Lakers have been under the control of the Buss family since 1979, when Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the team from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million—a deal that also included the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and The Forum arena.

Over the past 46 years, the Lakers have become one of the most successful and recognizable franchises in sports, capturing 11 NBA championships under Buss family ownership, with the most recent title coming in 2020.

Following Jerry Buss’s death in 2013, control of the team passed to his children, with Jeanie Buss serving as the team’s governor, top executive. and the public face of the franchise. 

The family’s trust structure required a majority of the six Buss siblings to agree to any sale, a consensus that was finally reached this week, according to the LA Times.

 

Mark Walter: A New Era Begins

As the controlling owner of the Dodgers since 2012, Walter has overseen a period of remarkable success, including two World Series championships and a dramatic turnaround of the franchise’s finances and reputation.

His sports portfolio also includes stakes in the Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), the Billie Jean King Cup, the Cadillac Formula 1 team, and the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

With this acquisition, Walter will become the only individual to control both of Los Angeles’s most storied sports franchises, the Lakers and the Dodgers, further cementing his influence in the city’s sporting landscape.

 

Jeanie Buss to Remain Involved

Despite the change in majority ownership, Jeanie Buss is expected to continue as the Lakers’ governing executive.

 

Record Price

The $10 billion sale price not only shatters previous records for North American sports franchises but also underscores the global appeal and financial might of the Lakers' brand.

For context, the Boston Celtics were sold for $6.1 billion earlier this year, and the Dallas Mavericks changed hands for $3.5 billion in late 2023.

 

This article was written in conjunction with Perplexity, L.A. Times, and ESPN.com.