NBA Approves Mark Walter As New Lakers Owner

Mark Walter now owns Los Angeles’s two biggest sports franchises. 

On Oct. 30, the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, who also owns the Dodgers, was approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors to be the new owner of the Lakers. Walter was already a minority owner in the team with a 27% stake, which he purchased in 2021, and in June, agreed to purchase the franchise from the Buss family at a $10 billion valuation, a record for an American sports franchise, and topped the rival Celtics’ valuation of $6.1 billion.

Because of his previous stake in the team, Walter had to pay only around $6 billion to get the majority share, which came in one transaction instead of multiple, breaking a recent NBA trend that includes the Celtics’ and Trail Blazers’ deals. Also involved in the deal is Walter’s longtime business partner Todd Boehly, who is a co-owner of the Dodgers and went in on the 2021 transaction for a 27% Lakers stake. 

Together, Walter and Boehly now own 85% of the Lakers, although their exact stakes are unclear. Walter is the majority owner, and Boehly will be a limited partner. The deal cedes control of one of the NBA’s successful franchises to Walter after being run by the Buss family for nearly 50 years.  

Jeanie Buss will retain a 15% stake in the franchise, which is the minimum required to serve as team governor, a position she will continue to hold for “at least five years,” the NBA said in its release. Team governors typically represent their teams at Board of Governors meetings. Her father, Jerry Buss, bought the Lakers, Kings, and Los Angeles Forum for $67.5 million in 1979. Jeanie became the face of Lakers ownership after her father died in 2013. 

Aside from the Lakers and Dodgers, Walter also has stakes in Chelsea of the English Premier League and the WNBA’s Sparks. He is also the primary financial backer of the PWHL.

Walter takes over the Lakers during a transition period as the team shifts its priorities to building around Luka Dončić while LeBron James is in the twilight of his career. The Lakers have won 17 championships in their history, which is the second most in the NBA behind the Celtics’ 18. The Lakers won their most recent NBA title in 2020, but they haven’t made the Finals since. 

Walter brings extreme wealth to an organization that lacked outside capital over the years, as the Buss family’s wealth stemmed from owning the team. Walter has a net worth of $7.3 billion, according to Forbes, and has turned the Dodgers into baseball’s premier organization in his 13 years as owner (they are currently down 3–2 in the World Series against the Blue Jays—Game 6 is Friday in Toronto). Now he’ll try to do the same thing on the other side of town.