RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Topline he timing of Mark Walter’s Lakers sale to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger is prompting conspiracy theories the Trump administration’s fraud investigation into Walter might have played a role in the deal to benefit the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, weeks after Josh Kushner’s plan to buy part of FIFA unraveled.
Kushner , the billionaire founder of Thrive Capital, and Iger, the former Disney CEO who joined Thrive earlier this year, purchased a controlling interest in the team from Walter, whose financial services business is facing probes by both federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Walter, who Forbes estimates is worth $7.3 billion, bought the Lakers 14 months ago at a then-record $10 billion valuation, and sold his stake to Kushner and Iger at a $12.5 billion valuation, setting a new record for the largest ever sale of a sports team.
Adding an additional layer of speculation to the timing is that Thrive’s deal to buy a portion of the FIFA World Cup collapsed less than two weeks ago—a plan involving a Trump ally, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, that fell apart amid criticism of private equity’s involvement in the deal.
Some in the sports business world cast doubt that the Trump-adjacent factors were a coincidence in the wake of the Lakers news on Wednesday, though an unnamed White House spokesperson told Front Office Sports the sale “has nothing to do with President Trump or his administration.”
Sports business analyst Joe Pompliano raised questions about the timing, writing on X, “I wouldn’t say I’m a conspiracy theorist, but it does seem weird that a guy who owns multiple sports teams and was in the middle of rebuilding the Lakers entire business operation would sell the team for a 20% gain in 2 years at the same time he is being investigated for fraud.”
Former longtime Fox Sports 1 and ESPN personality Skip Bayless called the sale “a shocker,” adding, “Does it have to do with two companies owned by Mark Walter being investigated for tax fraud? Yes, Walter is making about 2 billion in about 10 months. But the Cowboys/Yankees/Lakers are just so hard to acquire that you don't quickly cash out.”
“So……. the Mark Walter federal investigation colliding with Gianni Infantino’s preferred private-equity backers is………… a lot,” Pablo Torre, host of the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” investigative podcast, tweeted Wednesday morning.
Manhattan federal prosecutors and the SEC are investigating potential fraud related to private-credit deals involving loans from insurance companies Walter owns passed through a third party to companies tied to him or his conglomerate, TWG Global, the Wall Street Journal reported in July. The insurers acknowledged the investigations in June regulatory filings, writing “errors were identified related to the identification and presentation of certain related-party investments.” One of the insurers, Delaware Life, also reclassified about $16 billion in investments as affiliated, up from $1 billion, though it’s unclear if the company was initially aware that the investments were affiliated with Walter. Fitch ratings agency also told the Los Angeles Times another Walter insurer, Clear Spring, reclassified $4.6 billion worth of loans as affiliated. Delaware Life and Clear Spring have both received subpoenas related to the probe, according to the Journal. Walter’s cellphone and computer were also seized by the FBI in September last year, Bloomberg reported in July. A TWG Global spokesperson told the Journal in a statement that “Mark Walter and TWG have always acted in good faith, and those who have done business with Mark know him as honest and straightforward. Nothing about these transactions was any different,” adding “we are confident these matters will be resolved favorably.”
Some prominent FIFA members strongly opposed the idea of selling a portion of the nonprofit to private investors. The Union of European Football Associations said teams from its 55 member associations would boycott FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup, “so long as these proposals remain alive.” CONCACAF, the soccer governing body for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, said last month it would reject the plan. FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour also said executives opposed the plan, accusing Infantino—who pushed the deal—of having “deceived” them and leaving them out of negotiations. The plan involved spinning off FIFA’s commercial business, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, into a subsidiary owned partly by private investors, led by Thrive. Trump warned FIFA against removing Infantino in a post on Truth Social Monday, his first public defense of Infantino after telling reporters last month he did not speak to him about the proposed sale. FIFA issued an apology to its members last week for “errors” handling the so-called FIFA Forward Enterprise Plan, but said it supported Infantino remaining president.
Walter co-founded the Guggenheim Partners financial firm, and TWG Global is the holding company that controls his insurers, his stake in Guggenheim and his ownership in sports teams, including the Dodgers and Chelsea Premier League soccer team, according to CNBC . Guggenheim also faced a separate SEC probe last year over how the company represented its revenues to outside parties, according to Bloomberg , citing unnamed sources, though the status of that investigation is unclear.
Walter does not plan to sell the Dodgers, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. Forbes estimates the Dodgers are worth $7.8 billion, ranking them No. 2 in value among Major League Baseball teams, behind the New York Yankees.
Forbes estimates Kushner’s net worth at $5.2 billion.
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Billionaire Josh Kushner, Former Disney CEO Bob Iger Buy Los Angeles Lakers In Record $12.5 Billion Deal (Forbes)
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