$12.5 billion is the figure the Los Angeles Lakers just changed hands for, with an ownership group that includes former Disney chief executive Bob Iger and investor Josh Kushner. The transaction closes roughly 14 months after Mark Walter bought the Buss family's controlling stake at an approximate $10 billion valuation, putting $2.5 billion of implied appreciation on the board in that window.
The math on Walter's flip
Walter agreed to the Buss family purchase in June 2025 at the $10 billion figure. The $12.5 billion sale price is a 25% step-up on that basis in roughly 14 months. Walter's business empire has reportedly drawn federal scrutiny over billions in private-credit investments. The source notes no evidence the investigation forced a sale, and his liquidity position is not confirmed as a factor. The timing is what it is.
Iger's Clippers chapter and the ownership reversal
Iger's seat in the buying group is the detail that lit up Lakers fans. In January 2021, on The Old Man and the Three podcast hosted by JJ Redick (now the Lakers' head coach), Iger said he "couldn't root for the Lakers very easily" and that doing so was "not in my DNA." He had moved to California in 2000. Rather than taking up with the Lakers, he adopted the Clippers. The reason he gave Redick: Clippers tickets were cheaper. The man who helped fund a $12.5 billion purchase originally picked the crosstown rival on ticket price.
His background as a New York Knicks fan is the structural reason. He arrived in Los Angeles without the childhood allegiance that typically locks someone into the purple and gold, and the Clippers offered a lower-cost point of entry into the market.
What the transaction leaves unresolved
The terms inside the Iger-Kushner ownership group, including equity distribution among members, are not disclosed in available reporting. Walter's federal scrutiny around private-credit is reported but unresolved. What is on record: a $10 billion entry in June 2025, a $12.5 billion exit roughly 14 months later, and one of the highest stated valuations for a professional sports franchise in that number alone.