Mark Walter

Net worth over time

Forbes estimates of Mark Walter's net worth each year, next to the Forbes value of the Los Angeles Lakers. From 2015 to now the net worth went from $1.9B to $7.3B, about 4 times as much.

Yearly points are from the Forbes billionaires lists, mostly the spring World's Billionaires list; the last point is the latest Forbes real-time figure, which can differ a lot from the spring list. Years without a published figure are skipped.

The businesses in detail

How the main business makes money. Guggenheim manages other people's money and charges fees for it. It also advises companies on deals. Walter's insurers sell life insurance and annuities, which are contracts paying retirement income. The premiums that customers pay are pooled and invested.

Biggest deals.

• Guggenheim bought Claymore, Security Benefit and insurer EquiTrust (2009-2011). It sold its exchange-traded-fund arm to Invesco for $1.2B in 2018.
• 2012: led the $2.15B purchase of the Dodgers; he reportedly put in $100M personally.
• 12 August 2026: agreed to sell about 65% of the Lakers at a $12.5B valuation to a group led by Josh Kushner. The sale awaits NBA approval.
• 18 August 2026: Fox Business reported that TWG agreed to cut up to $6.5B of Delaware Life's investments in his businesses.
• 16 September 2026: agreed with Todd Boehly to sell their Chelsea stakes to majority owner Clearlake. Bloomberg put the club's enterprise value at about £5B.

Career path

1. 1982

   Graduates from Creighton; earns a Northwestern law degree in 1985

2. 1996

   Co-founds Chicago firm Liberty Hampshire

3. 1999

   Helps found Guggenheim Partners with the Guggenheim family

4. 2012

   Leads the Dodgers purchase and becomes chairman

5. 2014

   Joins the group buying the WNBA's Sparks

6. 2021

   Buys 27% of the Lakers with Todd Boehly

7. 2024

   Founds TWG Global; takes full ownership of Andretti Global

8. 2025

   Buys control of the Lakers; NBA approves on 30 October

9. 2026

   Agrees to sell the Lakers stake, with an NBA vote expected in November, and his Chelsea stake

Teams and sports assets

Owns now 10

• teamLos Angeles LakersNBA · Basketball · USSince 2021 · about 65% · 27% in 2021 at about $5B value; control in 2025 at $10B; sale agreed Aug 2026 at $12.5B, NBA vote pending
• teamLos Angeles DodgersMLB · Baseball · USSince 2012 · 27%; controlling owner and chairman · $2.15B for 100% (group); Forbes 2026 $7.8B
• teamLos Angeles SparksWNBA · Basketball · USSince 2014 · part-owner
• teamBlueCo (Chelsea FC; RC Strasbourg)Premier League; Ligue 1 · Football (soccer) · UK; FranceSince 2022 · 12.7% · Chelsea bought at £4.25B (2022); sale of stake to Clearlake agreed Sep 2026 at about £5B club enterprise value
• league stakeProfessional Women's Hockey LeaguePWHL · Ice hockey · US; CanadaSince 2023 · his group owns the league's teams
• sports businessAndretti GlobalIndyCar · Motor racing · USSince 2024 · 100% via TWG Global
• teamCadillac Formula 1 TeamFormula 1 · Motor racing · USSince 2024 · led by TWG Motorsports
• teamWayne Taylor RacingIMSA · Motor racing · USSince 2025 · via TWG Motorsports
• teamSpire MotorsportsNASCAR · Motor racing · USSince 2025 · via TWG Motorsports
• sports businessBillie Jean King CupTennis · InternationalTWG holding; size not found

Other investments and assets

• Companies and funds: Personal stakes in Beyond Meat and Carvana. TWG also holds battery-storage firm Plus Power, Wayne Taylor Racing, Spire Motorsports and the Billie Jean King Cup. It has AI partnerships with Palantir and xAI.
• Property: Commercial and historic buildings in Crested Butte, Colorado; White Oak Conservation.
• Family in the business: None reported; wife Kimbra is an attorney and a Lincoln Park Zoo trustee.

Giving and politics

• $40M to Northwestern Law (2014).
• He leads the Dodgers Foundation: $50M gifts at the start and end of the 2024 season.
• Organised a $100M LA Rises donation for wildfire recovery (2025).
• Bipartisan political giving; 2011 records show $30,800 to the Democratic National Committee.

How they run their teams

• Low profile: he left Jeanie Buss in charge as Lakers governor. Under him the Dodgers won the World Series in 2020, 2024 and 2025.
• NPR and Fox Business reported in August 2026 a federal investigation involving Walter and his companies. Status: no charges had been reported by 28 October 2026. A spokesman says Walter has always acted in good faith.
• AP reported that neither the Dodgers nor the Sparks are part of the Lakers sale.
• The sale needs 23 of 30 NBA owners. ESPN reported on 16 October 2026 that the vote is expected in November.

What they have said

• He described owning the Lakers as a great honour and thanked Jeanie Buss.
• Through a spokesman, he maintains he has always acted in good faith.
• Financial muscle lets big-market clubs like the Dodgers win, and baseball needs some form of parity.
• He has taken no position on a baseball salary cap and will wait for a formal proposal.
• He did not expect the Dodgers purchase to be about him, and believes in keeping his head down and working.

Little-known facts

• He bid for the Clippers in 2014 with David Geffen, Oprah Winfrey and Larry Ellison, and lost to Steve Ballmer.
• The women's hockey league trophy, the Walter Cup, is named for him and his wife.
• His 2021 Lakers stake came with a first right to buy any other Lakers shares.