NewzThe Buss family has decided to sell its remaining ownership stake in the Lakers, meaning Jeanie Buss will no longer remain governor of the team. LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Buss family has voted to sell its 17.8% minority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers to new majority owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, ESPN and The Athletic are reporting. The decision Monday by the six children of late owner Jerry Buss will end the family’s 47 years in an ownership role with the 17-time NBA champion franchise.
The move also appears to end Jeanie Buss’ tenure as the Lakers’ governor. “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 issued to ESPN. “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.” Jeanie Buss, the Lakers’ governor since Jerry Buss’ death in 2013, led the family’s decision to sell a controlling stake in the Lakers to Dodgers owner Mark Walter last year at a valuation of $10 billion.
Not all of the six Buss siblings — Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse — were in favor of the deal despite retaining their family trust’s minority ownership stake, and Joey and Jesse were fired from their front-office jobs with the team last November. The siblings have been in frequent conflict since their father’s death, with Jeanie firing Jim from his job as the Lakers’ head of basketball operations in 2017, followed a week later with a lawsuit against her brothers amid an attempt by Jim and Johnny to oust Jeanie from her role as the Lakers’ controlling owner. Walter, who is under federal investigation for tax issues, abruptly reached a deal earlier this month to flip the Lakers to Kushner and Iger at a valuation of $12.5 billion, another record for a pro sports team.
Venture capitalist Kushner and former Disney CEO Iger reportedly bought about 65% of the team from Walter, but will now own about 83% of the Lakers — and Jeanie Buss apparently will no longer be able to serve as their governor. She had been allowed to keep the role at least through 2030 under the deal with Walter, and Iger said last week that the new group planned to honor that arrangement — but governors are required to control at least 15% of team ownership. Jerry Buss was a chemist and real estate investor who bought the Lakers, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and the Forum arena from Jack Kent Cooke in 1979 for $67.5 mi…
Jeanie Buss was originally set to stay on as the team's governor under Josh Kushner and Bob Iger The Lakers' sale to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner reportedly has a new layer. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Buss family has decided to sell off their remaining ownership stake in the purple and gold.
The Buss family trust IS comprised of Dr. Jerry Buss's six children: Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse.
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