Bob Iger Just Bought The Lakers For A RECORD-BREAKING $12.5 Billion — And Wait Until You See Who His Business Partner Is 🏀

Well, this is one way to celebrate leaving Disney.

Bob Iger just bought the Los Angeles Lakers for a jaw-dropping $12.5 BILLION — and yes, that's the highest price ever paid for an American sports franchise. Ever.

The 75-year-old former Disney boss teamed up with billionaire venture capitalist Josh Kushner (yep, married to supermodel Karlie Kloss) to snag the Purple and Gold in what TMZ is calling a "record-shattering" deal.

The Plot Twist We Did NOT See Coming

Here's where it gets wild: Iger and Kushner had been working on bringing an NBA expansion team to Las Vegas — but apparently decided "why build when you can buy the most iconic franchise in basketball?"

The Lakers sold for $10 billion just LAST YEAR to Mark Walter, according to Deadline. That's a $2.5 billion increase in value in barely 12 months. The math is MATHING and we are shook.

"As 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," Iger and Kushner said in a statement to E! News.

The Tea ☕

• Bob Iger (fresh off his exit as Disney CEO in March) and Josh Kushner (Thrive Capital founder) bought the Lakers for $12.5 billion
• It's the highest price ever paid for an American sports team — by FAR
• The Lakers were sold just last year for $10 billion to Mark Walter (who is currently under federal investigation over his finances, though he denies wrongdoing)
• LeBron James left the Lakers in June and joined the 76ers, so the new owners have some rebuilding to do

What This Means For The Lakers

Iger isn't exactly a newbie to the LA sports scene — he and his wife Willow Bay bought a controlling stake in Angel City FC (the women's soccer team) back in 2024 for $250 million, which was the highest valuation for a women's sports team at the time.

Now he's got courtside seats for life. And considering the upcoming NBA season kicks off October 20 with games on NBC, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video and ESPN (which Disney still owns), there's a very good chance we'll be seeing A LOT of Iger on our screens.

The new owners emphasized they have "immense respect for the leadership and vision" of former majority owner Jerry Buss and his daughter Jeanie Buss. Their "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."

And Then There's The Kushner Connection

Quick reminder: Josh Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump. So yes, there's a Trump family connection here — though Josh and Jared are known to have very different political views. (Josh's wife Karlie Kloss has been vocal about progressive causes.)

Still, the internet is going to have THOUGHTS about this ownership combo. 💭

The Billion-Dollar Question

With LeBron gone and new billionaire owners in place, what's next for the Lakers? Will they go after a major free agent? Make a blockbuster trade? Build a brand new arena made entirely of gold? (Okay, that last one is a joke... probably.)

One thing's for sure: Iger didn't spend $12.5 billion to finish in the middle of the pack. Championship rings or bust, baby.

Do you think Iger and Kushner can bring another championship to LA? Or is this just billionaires playing with their toys? Sound off below! 👇

Sources:

• TMZ
• E! News
• Deadline