Buss family selling Lakers ownership stake to Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner

The end of an era.

The Buss Family Trust is selling its 17.8% stake of the Lakers, according to media reports Monday, giving its final shares of the team to new majority owners Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger, who bought the controlling ownership stake from Mark Walter last week for a record valuation of $12.5 billion. The sale ends a 47-year reign for the Buss family, which turned the Lakers into one of the most recognizable teams in the world.

“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 Buss family said in a statement to ESPN, which first reported the news. “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.”

The transactions still need to be approved by the NBA board of governors. Jeanie Buss, who remained the Lakers governor even after Walter’s purchase of the team was approved last October, would no longer be eligible to serve on the board, which requires minority owners to have at least a 15% stake.

The Buss family has owned the team since 1979, when Jerry Buss bought the franchise, the Forum and the Los Angeles Kings for $67.5 million. The family patriarch leveraged Hollywood glamour with entertainment spectacle to elevate the Lakers into an internationally recognized brand. The league’s biggest stars shone brightest in L.A. — Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant helped pile up 10 NBA championships under Buss. The Laker Girls became a harbinger of sports dance teams to come. Celebrities flocked to the sideline. Books and TV shows told the team’s Hollywood story.

When Buss died in 2013, the team was passed to a trust for his six children: Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse.

Each of Buss’ six children held titles in the organization. Jeanie was her father’s hand-picked successor. Despite being one of the most recognizable franchises in the world, the Lakers were a family-run business, complete with occasional squabbles.

Jeanie fought to maintain her position through legal battles against older brothers Johnny and Jim, eventually ousting them from team operations. Joey and Jessie, the two youngest, were unceremoniously fired last November. Joey was the team’s alternate governor and vice president of research and development and Jesse was the assistant general manager. Janie held an administrative role directing the team’s charitable services.

The booming sports business quickly caught up to the team that once held the attention of the city with the league’s biggest stars, iconic “Showtime” style and old Hollywood feel. The Lakers slogged through a six-year playoff drought from 2013-19. The team started falling behind in resources and revenue compared to other organizations that controlled their own arenas and could maximize alternative revenue streams. The Buss family voted to relinquish a majority ownership of the team in 2025, bringing in Walter, who also owns the Dodgers.

Jeanie was to remain the governor of the team for five years under Walter, but the investment mogul who is under federal investigation for unpaid loans shockingly sold his stake in the Lakers last week to Kushner and Iger. Kushner, a co-founder of a venture capital firm Thrive Capital and the permanent holdings company Thrive Eternal, will have to divest a minority stake in the Miami Heat before the Lakers purchase can be approved. Iger is the longtime Disney chief executive who already owns Angel City FC and previously flirted with NFL ownership by trying to build an NFL stadium in Carson before the project ultimately went to Stan Kroenke-led SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Jeanie, who was the first female controlling owner to win an NBA title in 2020, was to remain the governor of the team for five years under Walter, but the investment mogul who is under federal investigation for unpaid loans shockingly sold his stake in the Lakers last week to Kushner and Iger. Kushner is a co-founder of a venture capital firm Thrive Capital, which started a permanent holdings company Thrive Eternal this year. Iger is the longtime Disney chief executive who already owns Angel City FC and previously flirted with NFL ownership by trying to build an NFL stadium in Carson before the project ultimately went to Stan Kroenke-led SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The $12.5 billion valuation surpassed Walter’s then-record $10 billion price tag from 2025.

Before including the Buss shares, the Lakers majority stake sale already was the largest sum paid for any professional sports franchise, with the $9.612 billion paid for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks next in line. It sits below, however, Sportico’s estimate for the most valuable pro sports franchise, with the outlet listing the Dallas Cowboys’ valuation at $15.5 billion.

Minority stakeholders Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who also owns the Los Angeles Times Media Group; real estate billionaire Ed Roski; and Walter business partner Todd Boehly own about 14% of the Lakers, according to Sportico.

How Iger and Kushner will finance the Lakers deal is unclear.

When the duo agreed to buy Walter’s share last week, Kushner and Iger released a statement that in part praised the Buss family’s work with the Lakers.

“We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss,” the statement read. “Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles.”