Jeanie Buss is not prepared to part with her remaining ownership interest in the Los Angeles Lakers.
The development comes after Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner joined forces in a recent $12.5billion purchase of the Lakers from former owner Mark Walter. On Monday, the Buss family announced plans to sell its remaining 17.8 percent stake in the storied NBA franchise to the new ownership group.
Walter had bought the team in 2024 for $10billion, ending the Buss family’s long run operating the organization after the death of Dr Jerry Buss in 2013, when control passed to his children.
But later Monday, Jeanie Buss pushed back. A letter from her attorney, Adam Streisand, asserted that she had not agreed to sell her stake in the Lakers and argued that any vote approving such a transaction would be “void ab initio.” Streisand also submitted paperwork in the Superior Court of Los Angeles Central District seeking to block the sale.
According to the letter, any sale of the remaining Lakers stake would require approval from all three co-trustees: Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss.
Jeanie Buss is contesting her family’s planned sale of their remaining stake in the Lakers
Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger are buying the franchise, valuing it at $12.5 billion
On Monday, it was reported that five of the six Buss children (including Joey, left, and Jesse, right) voted to sell the family’s remaining 17.8 percent stake in the team to Iger and Kushner
‘No sale of the JAB Trust’s 17.8% ownership interest in the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. can be effectuated without approval by the current co-trustees, i.e., Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss,’ Streisand said in the letter obtained by multiple outlets.
‘Pursuant to the JAB Trust and the attached Court Order, the co-trustees are bound to vote the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. shares to ensure that the minimum 15% ownership requirement is maintained in order to ensure that Jeanie Buss may remain Controlling Owner.
‘Any attempt by the co-trustees to do otherwise, and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court.’
The letter added: ‘On behalf of Jeanie Buss, I demand that your clients make clear publicly that Jeanie Buss is the Controlling Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and that your clients shall take no action on this supposed ‘vote’ to sell the 17.8% stake.’
Jeanie has been the controlling owner and Governor of the team since her father’s passing in 2013, including through Walter’s ownership. In order to remain in that position, she must retain 15 percent ownership.
When Walter bought the team in 2024, an agreement was reached to allow Jeanie to be the team’s Governor through 2030. Iger previously told the California Post that he and Kushner intended to honor this agreement.
However, in the letter sent by her lawyer, the attorney claims that the rules of the family trust and a 2017 court ruling insist the co-trustees must ‘take all actions reasonabl[y] available to them, including voting the Trust’s shares, to ensure that [Jeanie] is elected as the Controlling Owner of the Lakers on an annual basis during [her] lifetime.’
Streisand also categorized the announcement of the sale of the trust’s stake as ‘just the latest instance of a years-long pattern whereby Joey and Jesse Buss leak false, defamatory and pernicious “information”… for the malicious purpose of doing harm to the Los Angeles Lakers so long as Dr. [Jerry] Buss’ chosen successor, Jeanie Buss, carries out her father’s wishes.’
Jeanie’s lawyer argues that a court ruling forces the family trust to ensure that she is a controlling owner of the Lakers for the rest of her life
The Buss family sold the franchise to Mark Walter in a deal valuing the team at $10 billion
In the statement announcing the sale, the other five Buss children said, ‘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, 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.’
In the agreement, Kushner and Iger are buying about 65 percent of the Lakers from Walter. If the Buss family sells their share, the two investors would own roughly 83 percent of the franchise.
Kushner currently has a minority ownership stake in the Miami Heat that he must sell before the Lakers deal is finalized.
In addition, the NBA’s Board of Governors must approve the sale. The group is set to meet in New York on September 15 and 16.
