The NBA team Los Angeles Lakers will soon have a new owner with Mark Walter, the CEO of holding company TWG Global set to buy majority stakes in the franchise from Buss family. He has been a stakeholder in the Lakers since 2021. According to multiple media outlets, Jeanie Buss will continue to serve in her role as Lakers governor.
Who is Mark Walter?
Walter is already a well-known figure in the Los Angeles sports community. He has ownership in teams like Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Sparks, the Billie Jean Cup, Cadillac Formula One team and the Professional Women's Hockey League. How rich is the soon-to-be Lakers' new owner?
Mark Walter's net worth
According to a Hindustan Times report, Bloomberg Billionaires Index has reported Mark Walter's net worth to be at $12.4 billion as of Wednesday. Forbes, however, reports that Walter has a net worth of $6.1 billion.
As CEO of Guggenheim Partners, Walter oversees a firm managing over $300 billion in assets, which he co-founded in the late 1990s by merging his Chicago-based Liberty Hampshire into the Guggenheim family office.
His personal portfolio includes stakes in Beyond Meat and Carvana, bolstering his $12.1 billion net worth. Since 2012, Walter has co-owned the Los Angeles Dodgers, acquired for $2.2 billion with partners like Magic Johnson, now valued at $6.3 billion.
In 2021, Walter and Todd Boehly bought a 27% Lakers stake for $1.35 billion, and his recent deal for majority ownership, announced on Wednesday, further boosts his influence.
Everything you need to know about Lakers history
Jerry Buss purchased the franchise from Jack Kent Cooke in a $67.5 million transaction that also included the Los Angeles Kings and the Forum. Under his leadership and that of his children after his death in 2013, the Lakers won 11 NBA championships and made 17 Finals appearances.
The Lakers have been in the control of the Buss family for 46 years, the longest ownership of any current NBA franchise. Herb Simon bought the Indiana Pacers -- currently in the NBA Finals -- in 1983, the second-longest current ownership of an NBA club.
