Lakers Sold Again: Mark Walter Flips Team To Josh Kushner And Bob Iger For $12.5 Billion

By JR·2 min read

TLDR: Mark Walter is already cashing out of the Lakers, agreeing to sell his controlling stake to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a record $12.5 billion.

Per Shelburne, Kushner and Iger approached Walter about the sale on a Sunday, and it came together fast enough that even she was stunned. Kushner runs Thrive Capital, which launched Thrive Eternal in May with a stated focus on restoring iconic brands — its first play was a minority stake in the San Francisco Giants before this considerably bigger swing at the Lakers.
ClutchPoints
@ClutchPoints
"They called Mark Walter; I am told this was on Sunday... I'm still kind of shaking my head at how this came together so quickly." Ramona Shelburne on Josh Kushner and Bob Iger buying the Lakers for $12.5 billion. (via @FirstTake)
Luka Doncic, the face of the current roster, put out a statement welcoming the new ownership: "I'm excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA... I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special." For a fanbase that's now watched its team get sold twice in 18 months for a combined $22.5 billion, the hope is simply that the on-court product finally matches the price tag.
Just 14 months after the Buss family sold controlling interest in the Lakers to Mark Walter for roughly $10 billion, the franchise is changing hands again. Walter has agreed to sell his stake to Thrive Capital's Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger for $12.5 billion, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, making it the most expensive sale in North American sports history.
NBACentral
@TheDunkCentral
🚨 BREAKING: THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS HAVE BEEN SOLD AGAIN. 🚨 Josh Kushner and Bob Iger are reportedly purchasing the Lakers for a RECORD-BREAKING $12 BILLION, per @ramonashelburne
The number climbed fast. Shelburne's initial report put the deal at $12 billion before she updated it minutes later to $12.5 billion, a jump that had beat writers scrambling to correct their own posts in real time.
Ramona Shelburne
@ramonashelburne
Update: The agreement is for $12.5 billion.
One thing hasn't changed: Walter isn't touching the Dodgers. Shelburne reported the sale covers only his Lakers shares, and the Buss family's remaining stake isn't part of the transaction either. The Sparks, per Dan Woike, also stay out of it. What is changing is the math on Walter's Lakers investment — buy for $10 billion in 2025, sell for $12.5 billion in 2026, pocket a reported $2.5 billion in under a year, per Legion Hoops.
Legion Hoops
@LegionHoops
Mark Walter reportedly made $2,500,000,000 in just one year after flipping the Lakers franchise. Whole other universe.
There's a wrinkle behind the quick turnaround. Bloomberg reported Walter has been raising cash to cover loans tied to an active FBI investigation, which Legion Hoops flagged as a likely driver of the sale. Marc Stein added another layer: when Walter bought in, it was stipulated in writing that Jeanie Buss would stay on as Lakers operating governor for five years — a pact Bob Iger says the new ownership group intends to honor. "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," Iger told reporters.
Marc Stein
@TheSteinLine
Bob Iger tells @khobi_price that new Lakers ownership intends to honor Mark Walter’s pact with Jeanie Buss to stay team governor. Iger: “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 …”