Jeanie Buss, the current governor of the Los Angeles Lakers, is actively opposing a proposal put forward by her brothers and sisters to dispose of the family's residual 17.8 percent stake in the franchise. The dispute has surfaced at a time when a high‑profile transaction is already in motion, involving prominent investors who aim to acquire a controlling interest in the storied basketball club. Earlier this month, Josh Kushner—who is notably the brother‑in‑law of former President Donald Trump’s son‑in‑law Jared Kushner—and Bob Iger, the former chief executive of The Walt Disney Company, announced that they had reached a preliminary agreement to purchase a majority share of the Lakers.
The deal values the organization at roughly $12.5 billion (about £9.3 billion), which would set a new benchmark for the price of a professional sports franchise worldwide. According to the terms that have been reported, Kushner and Iger intend to acquire roughly 65 percent of the team from Mark Walter, a billionaire who already holds a minority interest in the Lakers and co‑owns the Los Angeles Dodgers alongside Chelsea Football Club chairman Todd Boehly. If the transaction with the Buss family proceeds as planned, the new consortium would control approximately 83 percent of the Lakers, effectively handing over operational authority to the incoming investors.
Jeanie Buss has served as the Lakers’ governor since 2013, a role she assumed after the death of her father, Jerry Buss, who purchased the franchise in 1979 and transformed it into a global brand. In 2022, Jeanie oversaw the sale of a controlling stake to Mark Walter at a valuation of $10 billion. That agreement was structured to keep her in the governor’s seat through 2030, on the condition that she retained at least a 15 percent ownership interest—an ownership threshold required by NBA bylaws for anyone to serve as a governor. The current proposal to sell the remaining family trust shares would drop Jeanie’s ownership below that 15 percent floor, thereby forcing her to relinquish the governor title.
In a statement released by the Buss family on Monday, the siblings declared, "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. We love the Lakers, Lakers 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’s legal counsel, attorney Adam Streisand, responded swiftly. He sent a formal letter to the other five siblings, asserting that any attempt to divest the trust’s stake would be null and void. The letter, as reported by ESPN, emphasized that the co‑trustees are legally obligated to preserve the minimum 15 percent ownership level to ensure Jeanie can remain the controlling owner.
Streisand warned that any deviation from this duty would constitute a breach of fiduciary duty, a violation of trust, and could be deemed contempt of court. The Buss family’s involvement with the Lakers spans more than four decades and includes 11 of the organization’s 17 NBA championships.
However, internal discord has plagued the siblings since Jerry Buss’s passing. In 2017, Jeanie dismissed her brother Jim from his position as head of basketball operations, a move that precipitated a lawsuit filed by Jim and another brother, Johnny, who sought to remove Jeanie as the controlling owner. More recently, two other siblings, Joey and Jesse, were terminated from their front‑office roles in November of the previous year. The prospective sale to Kushner and Iger still requires approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors, a process that could extend over several months.
The transaction also arrives amid broader controversy surrounding Josh Kushner’s involvement in a separate venture: the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal. Kushner’s firm, Thrive Eternal, was initially slated to lead an investor group that would sell stakes in FIFA’s competitions to private capital.
The plan was abandoned after intense criticism and threats of boycott from several continental confederations, including UEFA. If the Lakers deal proceeds, it will mark a historic moment for the league, setting a new valuation record and potentially reshaping the ownership landscape of one of the NBA’s most iconic franchises. For Jeanie Buss, the outcome will determine whether she can continue her stewardship of the team she has guided for more than a decade, or whether she will step aside as the family’s internal disagreements culminate in a final exit from the organization.
The situation underscores the complex interplay between family legacy, corporate governance, and the ever‑escalating financial stakes in professional sports. As the NBA watches closely, the final decision will likely hinge on legal interpretations of trust obligations, the NBA’s own approval mechanisms, and the willingness of the Buss siblings to reconcile their divergent visions for the future of the Lakers.