It's official: the Buss family no longer owns a piece of the Los Angeles Lakers. Shams Charania broke the news that the family trust agreed to sell its remaining 17.8% stake to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, the new majority owners, ending a run that started with Jerry Buss buying the team back in 1979.
The mechanics matter here. This wasn't a snap decision — it required the six Buss siblings (Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse) to vote, and it took 4 of 6 to trigger the tag-along provision tied to Mark Walter's sale to Kushner and Iger, a deal that valued the franchise at $12.5 billion. Once it's done, Kushner and Iger will control roughly 83% of the team.
Once the transaction is completed, Jeanie Buss will no longer have the required ownership percentage to remain governor. NBA guidelines require controlling owners/governors to own at least 15% of a franchise.
The biggest fallout lands on Jeanie Buss. NBA rules require a governor to own at least 15% of the franchise, and 17.8% was exactly the cushion keeping her in that seat. According to ESPN, Walter's original agreement was actually going to let her stay on as governor through 2030 — this sale wipes that out regardless, since ownership percentage is the hard requirement. Jeanie took over as governor in 2013 after her father's death, and this closes out more than a decade running the franchise he built.
The family didn't go quiet about it. In a statement passed along by Charania, they framed the exit on their own terms: "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. 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."
Statement from the Buss family to ESPN: "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. 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."
This all comes fast on the heels of the Walter sale itself, which closed in late October 2025 at a $10 billion valuation and reportedly netted each sibling around $500 million after taxes. Now, with Kushner and Iger buying up the last of it at a jump to $12.5 billion, the Buss name is officially off the ownership ledger for the first time since the Magic Johnson-era dynasty began. The NBA board still has to sign off, with the next meeting reportedly set for September, but the family's own statement makes clear this is a done deal in their eyes — and a graceful goodbye to 47 years running one of sports' marquee franchises.