Jeanie Buss challenges family vote to sell remaining Lakers stake

Los Angeles – Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is contesting a vote by her siblings to sell the family’s remaining 17.8% ownership stake in the franchise. The vote, which would transfer the shares to investors Josh Kushner and Bob Iger at a $12.5 billion valuation, was supported by a tag-along provision from the June 2025 sale to majority owner Mark Walter.

Buss, represented by attorney Adam Streisand, argues that a 2017 court order requires the approval of all co-trustees – Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss – before any sale can be completed. She warns that proceeding without such consent would breach fiduciary duties and could be held in contempt of court.

"The co-trustees are bound to vote to ensure that the minimum 15% ownership requirement is maintained in order to ensure that Jeanie Buss may remain Controlling Owner," Streisand wrote to the five siblings who voted in favor of the sale.

If the transaction proceeds, Buss would lose the ownership percentage needed to retain her role as governor, despite an earlier agreement with Walter that she would remain the controlling owner through 2030. Iger has said he intends to honor that agreement but added, "If something changes, then it changes."

A family statement said the sale was intended to allow the Buss family to exit gracefully, while a spokesperson for Kushner and Iger declined to comment. The vote was called after an emergency meeting of the Buss siblings to discuss restructuring the family trust, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The dispute follows the second ownership change in just over a year and comes amid a federal investigation into Mark Walter for alleged tax violations linked to his companies.