Buss family exits Lakers ownership as Kushner and Iger consolidate control
Five of six siblings invoke tag-along clause to sell remaining stake, triggering NBA governance changes for the Los Angeles franchise.
The Buss family has sold its remaining 17.8% share in the Los Angeles Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, concluding a nearly five-decade era of family ownership. The transaction, which values the franchise at $12.5 billion, follows Kushner and Iger’s acquisition of majority control from Mark Walter last week. The sale marks the final exit of the family that has held the team’s reins since Dr Jerry Buss became owner in May 1979.
In a statement, the Buss family confirmed the decision to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the group led by Iger. "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," the family said. The sale was executed by five of the six siblings under a tag-along clause in the family trust, a mechanism that required four out of six siblings to vote for a sale of the team.
The exit has immediate governance implications for the NBA franchise. Under league rules, a team governor must hold at least 15% ownership. With the Buss family’s stake dropping below this threshold, Jeanie Buss will relinquish her position as team governor. Although the NBA previously stated that Buss would remain governor for at least a five-year term after Walter’s initial purchase in 2025, the reduced ownership stake now voids that arrangement.
Kushner and Iger’s consolidation of control comes shortly after they purchased the majority stake from Walter for $12.5 billion, just four days after Walter had acquired the team from the Buss family for $10 billion. When the news of the new ownership group broke, Iger told The California Post that the plan was for Buss to remain governor, but added that "if things change, they’ll change." With the Buss family now fully divested, either Iger or Kushner is expected to assume the governor role.
The departure of the Buss family follows a period of integration under Walter, who spent the past 14 months merging the Lakers with the Los Angeles Dodgers, another franchise he owns. While the initial sale to Walter was driven by Jeanie Buss, younger siblings Joey and Jesse Buss, who held prominent roles in basketball operations, were fired after that transaction. The unified decision by the remaining siblings to exit suggests a strategic shift in the franchise’s leadership structure, leaving Kushner and Iger to direct the team’s future without the historical oversight of the founding family.
