"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. "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." Kushner and Iger purchased control of the Lakers from Mark Walter last week in a shocking transaction. Walter, who also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, bought the team in 2025 at a $10 billion valuation.
He is currently under federal investigation for potential financial fraud. The Buss family has had a stake in the Lakers for nearly five decades, with Dr. Jerry Buss becoming the team's owner in May 1979.
The team has won 11 NBA championships in that 47-year span. When the Buss family originally sold the franchise to Walter last summer, Jeanie Buss was allowed to remain the team's governor. Jeanie took over as governor after he father's death in 2013.
NBA rules allow for someone to be a team governor only if they own at least 15% of the team, which the Buss family trust retained despite selling majority control to Walter. When Walter became owner in 2025, the NBA said in a statement that Buss would remain governor for at least a five-year term. Mere hours after the news broke that Kushner and Iger were buying the team, Iger gave an interview to The California Post in which he said that the plan was for Buss to remain governor, but that "if things change, they'll change." Now that the Buss family no longer owns the requisite 15% of the team necessary to retain governorship, either Iger or Kushner will presumably become the team's governor and lead the team moving forward.
The Buss family trust requires four out of the six siblings to vote for a sale of the team. The initial sale of majority control from the Buss family to Walter was driven by Jeanie, according to a lengthy ESPN report in January. That sale allowed Jeanie to retain governorship of the team.
However, younger siblings Joey and Jesse Buss, who had held prominent roles in basketball operations for the Lakers, were both fired afterward. Now, according to Yaron Weitzman, all five siblings besides Jeanie executed the tag-along clause in the family trust, stating that they wanted to sell the family's shares. A 17.8% stake in a $12.5 billion sale would be worth $2.25 billion.
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