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Teams/Pacific Division

Los Angeles Lakers

Mark Walter has held majority control since late October 2025, bought at a $10B valuation; Forbes values the team at $12.5B. His agreed sale to a Josh Kushner group awaits an NBA vote expected in November; the team has had seven owners since 1946.

Team value$12.5BForbes, October 2026 · +25% in a year
Current owner paid$10B$10.0B valuation, 2025
Growth since 199847x$268M on the 1998 Forbes list
Owners since founding7Pacific Division
Owner pagesJosh Kushner$16.7B · Investment firms Mark Walter$7.3B · Investment firms Compare with another team

Every owner since the start

  1. Pending
    Group led by Josh Kushner, with Bob Iger

    Agreed on 12 August 2026 to buy about 65% from Walter at a $12.5B valuation; not yet approved or closed

  2. 2025 to today
    Mark Walter

    Bought majority control from the Buss family trust at a $10B valuation; the family kept 17.8%

  3. 2013 to 2025
    Jerry Buss family trusts

    Inherited when Jerry Buss died on 18 February 2013; Jeanie Buss became governor

  4. 1979 to 2013
    Jerry Buss

    Bought from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5M, with a hockey team, The Forum arena and a ranch (Forbes: $20M for the Lakers)

  5. 1965 to 1979
    Jack Kent Cooke

    Bought from Bob Short for $5M

  6. 1957 to 1965
    Group led by Bob Short

    Bought from Berger and Chalfen for $200,000; moved the team to Los Angeles in 1960

  7. 1947 to 1957
    Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen

    Bought the Detroit Gems for $15,000 and moved them to Minneapolis

  8. 1946 to 1947
    C. King Boring and Maurice Winston

    Founded the Detroit Gems

Value over time

Forbes estimatePrice in an actual saleAgreed, not yet closed
  1. 12013 Buss family trusts inherit
  2. 22025 Walter buys control, $10B value
  3. 32026 Kushner sale agreed, $12.5B
Forbes annual team values, 1998 to 2026. Forbes published no list in 2001, 2006 or 2010. Numbered lines mark changes of control.
Show the numbers
YearForbes value
1998$268M
1999$282M
2000$360M
2002$403M
2003$426M
2004$510M
2005$529M
2007$560M
2008$584M
2009$607M
2011$643M
2012$900M
2013$1B
2014$1.35B
2015$2.6B
2016$2.7B
2017$3B
2018$3.3B
2019$3.7B
2020$4.4B
2021$5.5B
2022$5.9B
2023$6.4B
2024$7.1B
2025$10B
2026$12.5B
YearSaleTeam valued at
2021Walter and Boehly buy Anschutz's 27%$5B
2025Walter buys control from Buss family$10B
2026Buss trust votes to sell 17.8%$12.5B
2026Kushner-Iger group to buy about 65%$12.5B

Forbes valued the Lakers at $268M in 1998 and $12.5B in 2026, about 47 times as much. The biggest one-year jump was $2.9B, from 2024 to 2025; the biggest in percentage terms was 93%, from 2014 to 2015.

How the current owner bought it

  • July 2021: Walter and Todd Boehly bought the 27% stake of Philip Anschutz at about a $5B team valuation. It came with a first right to buy other Lakers shares.
  • 18 June 2025: the Buss family agreed to sell Walter majority control at a $10B valuation, keeping 17.8%.
  • 30 October 2025: NBA owners approved unanimously, and the sale closed that month.
  • 12 August 2026 (pending): Walter agreed to sell about 65% at a reported $12.5B valuation. Former Disney chief Bob Iger is co-buyer with Kushner.
  • The pending sale needs the votes of 23 of the 30 NBA owners. ESPN reported on 16 October 2026 that a Board of Governors vote is expected in November. ESPN had reported that Kushner must first sell his small stake in the Miami Heat.

Partners in the team

PartnerStakeWho they are
Buss Family Trust17.8%Held for the six children of Jerry Buss; its sale is contested in court
Todd Boehly, Edward P. Roski and Patrick Soon-Shiongnot publishedListed minority owners

How the team is run

  • Jeanie Buss votes for the team as governor. The NBA said in October 2025 that she would stay for at least five years.
  • On 17 August 2026 five of her siblings voted 5-0 to sell the trust stake on the same terms; she abstained. That sale would take the Kushner group to about 83%.
  • Reuters reported that she is contesting the vote. She petitioned Los Angeles Superior Court on 26 August 2026, citing a 2017 court order. Her five siblings filed an opposition on 7 October; co-trustees Joey and Janie Buss added a 29-page filing on 16 October, ESPN reported. Status: pending, with a hearing set for 8 December 2026.
  • ESPN and AP reported that a governor who is not the controlling owner must hold at least 15%. She would therefore lose the role if the trust sells. No successor is named; Iger has said the buyers intend to honour her five-year agreement.
  • NPR reported a federal investigation involving Walter and his companies. No charges had been reported by 28 October 2026, and NPR found no proven link to the sale.

Quick answers

Who owns the Los Angeles Lakers?

Mark Walter has held majority control since late October 2025, bought at a $10B valuation; Forbes values the team at $12.5B. Mark Walter agreed in August 2026 to sell about 65% to a group led by Josh Kushner at a $12.5B valuation; an NBA vote is expected in November.

How much are the Los Angeles Lakers worth?

Forbes values the Los Angeles Lakers at $12.5B in its October 2026 list, up 25% from $10B a year earlier. That makes them the 3rd most valuable of the 30 teams; in 1998 Forbes put the team at $268M.

How much did the current owner pay for the Lakers?

$10.0B valuation (Mark Walter, 2025).

Who owned the Los Angeles Lakers before the current owner?

Jerry Buss family trusts (2013 to 2025). Inherited when Jerry Buss died on 18 February 2013; Jeanie Buss became governor.

Open questions

  • The exact date and outcome of the NBA vote on the pending sale.
  • Who would be governor; how equity is split between Kushner, Iger and co-investors; any debt.
  • Whether Kushner has sold his Miami Heat stake.