The Buss family is officially cashing out on their investment in the Los Angeles Lakers. After initially sinking more than $2 billion into the NBA juggernaut, the Buss family is now finalizing a transaction that will see their majority stake in the team be transferred over to Mark Walter at a price of no less than $10 billion.
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Walter will now seize command of two of the state’s two most premier teams, as he is already the majority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Business is booming in L.A.
Nevertheless, his monopoly on the West Coast sporting front will likely end here, as the city’s other most prominent team, the Los Angeles Rams, appears to be doing just fine without his influence. Walter’s fellow competitor, Stan Kroenke, has managed to transform the perennial NFC West contenders into the second most valuable team in the NFL today.
SoFi Stadium alone comes with a price tag of $5.5 billion, with the Rams’ total evaluation sitting at a whopping $7.6 billion, per Forbes. Kroenke originally purchased the team for $750 million in 2010.
According to Forbes, the new owner of the NBA’s second-most decorated team boasts a net worth that is slightly larger than that of his NFL counterpart. The co-founder and CEO of a private investment firm, Walter’s net worth is currently estimated to be $6.1 billion.
Kroenke, who happens to be both a real estate mogul and one of the richest men in all of Missouri, currently sports an estimated net worth of $18 billion. Though when accounting for the fact that he is the owner of SoFi Stadium, and Walter’s latest purchase, it appears as if he’s now 12 billion dollars richer than Walter.
The Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots round out the list for the top three most expensive NFL franchises to date. America’s team continues to hold its place as the most valuable football team in the nation, and is currently the only team in the league to be valued at more than $10 billion.
Likewise, the Patriots are one of just four teams to be valued at $7 billion or more. However, unlike the Cowboys and Rams, who both feature state of the art stadiums, much of New England’s value comes from their winning traditions.
The Tom Brady era managed to make them the most decorated team in all of football, as well as one of the most recognized NFL teams around the world. The team’s owner, Robert Kraft, carries with him a personal net worth of $11.8 billion.
