Who is Mark Walter? What to know about the new Lakers owner
Who is Mark Walter? What to know about the new Lakers owner
For the first time since 1979, the Los Angeles Lakers' ownership will be leaving the Buss family. But the new owner should be an extremely familiar face for Los Angeles sports fans.
According to a report from Shams Charania on Wednesday, the Lakers are entering a sales agreement between the Buss family and billionaire Mark Walter.
The reported sale is expected to go for a jaw-dropping $10 billion, and Jeanie Buss will retain her role as Lakers governor. As for Walter, the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, there's a lot we already know about him when it comes to sports ownership.
He's the Dodgers' primary owner
Walter led the $2.15 billion purchase of the Dodgers in 2012 and holds around a quarter of the franchise's ownership stake. Though Walter has given much of the day-to-day decisions to Stan Kasten and Andrew Friedman, Walter is the public-facing leader of the ownership consortium.
He's invested in Chelsea FC
Walter teamed up with longtime business partner and Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly in the consortium that purchased the Premier League club in a forced sale from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in 2022.
Though Walter doesn't have veto power or operational influence with the club, he still owns a reported 12 percent stake in Clearlake Capital's holding company, BlueCo, which was established for the Chelsea purchase.
There could be a bit of a Premier League rivalry at the Lakers facility now between Walter and Liverpool part owner LeBron James.
He's also involved in the WNBA and F1
Walter is a part owner of the Los Angeles Sparks and the Cadillac Formula 1 Team. He joined the Sparks in 2014.
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