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<\/a><\/p>\nThe Lakers logo is displayed outside Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Aug. 12, 2026. (Mario Tama\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The sale comes barely a year after the team\u2019s controlling stake was sold for $10 billion to Mark Walter, the billionaire CEO of Guggenheim Partners who also owns MLB\u2019s Los Angeles Dodgers, the WNBA\u2019s L.A. Sparks, Premier League club Chelsea, the Professional Women\u2019s Hockey League and Cadillac\u2019s Formula 1 team. <\/p>\n
Walter, who is not Jewish, is reportedly seeking cash to pay down loans in response to a Department of Justice investigation.<\/p>\n
Kushner, 41, is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law and one-time advisor to President Donald Trump who has played a central role in Israel policy. The younger Kushner is a billionaire venture capitalist who holds a minority stake in the Miami Heat \u2014 which he will have to sell to complete the Lakers sale \u2014 and was previously a minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world,\u201d Iger and Kushner said in a statement. \u201cWe have immense respect for the leadership and vision of [longtime owners] Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lakers sale is the latest in a string of recent high-profile NBA team transactions by and among Jewish businesspeople \u2014 including Mat Ishbia\u2019s purchase of the Phoenix Suns, Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall\u2019s purchase of the Charlotte Hornets from Michael Jordan and Mark Cuban\u2019s sale of the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson.<\/p>\n
Kushner, who is the grandson of Holocaust survivors and was raised in an Orthodox home in Livingston, New Jersey, was at the center of a controversy in the world of professional soccer earlier this summer when his investment fund Thrive Eternal attempted to purchase a stake in FIFA\u2019s World Cup tournaments.<\/p>\n
Under pressure from stakeholders from across the sport, who objected to the prospect of private ownership of the sport\u2019s preeminent contest, the global soccer body withdrew the privatization offer.<\/p>\n
The Kushner family has donated millions of dollars to Jewish organizations in America and Israel, including the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, multiple West Bank settlement organizations, Chabad, the Ramaz School in Manhattan and Kehilath Jeshurun synagogue on the Upper West Side. The Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy in Livingston is named for his grandfather, who launched the family\u2019s real estate empire.<\/p>\n
Kushner\u2019s father Charles serves as the United States Ambassador to France and Monaco. <\/p>\n
Iger, 75, ended his second stint as CEO of Disney earlier this year. He and his wife, Willow Bay, are the owners of the professional women\u2019s soccer club Angel City FC. Iger was raised in a Jewish home.<\/p>\n
Following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that launched the Gaza war, Iger sent a note to Disney\u2019s Jewish employees to \u201cexpress my shock and sadness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that many of you have loved ones in Israel, and I cannot imagine how terrifying the last few days have been seeing the brutality unfold,\u201d he wrote. \u201cMy heart goes out to the victims, their families, and all of the innocent people whose lives have been torn apart by this unspeakable violence. I speak for myself and for the entire company in condemning these attacks, the hate that motivated them, and all acts of terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n