The Los Angeles Lakers’ record $10 billion sale has delivered a jaw-dropping windfall to the family of late owner Dr. Jerry Buss, while also igniting a dramatic split within the Buss dynasty — one that has ended nearly five decades of family control over basketball operations.
The sale, approved by the NBA Board of Governors in October 2025, sent the team’s majority share (66%) to billionaire Mark Walter, founder of Guggenheim Partners, while the Buss family retains a minority stake for a limited period.
But behind the historic valuation lies a deeper question: How much did each Buss sibling actually receive?
Buss Siblings Nearly Netted $1 Billion Each, per ESPN
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, each of the six Buss siblings walked away with nearly a billion-dollar check once the deal closed.
“Someone told me that each one of the Buss children… got a little under a billion dollars, like a high $900-million check,” Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective. “That came a couple of weeks ago when Mark Walter bought the team.”
The massive payout was not only unprecedented, but it also played a pivotal role in changing the vote dynamics within the Buss family.
Family Vote Swung When Jeanie Buss Backed the Sale
Windhorst reported that two siblings — Joey and Jesse Buss — had opposed selling the franchise for years. Previously, Jeanie Buss aligned with them, resulting in a deadlocked 3-3 votes that prevented a sale.
GettyJeanie Buss is the current governor of the Los Angeles Lakers.
But ultimately, Jeanie broke ranks.
“Jeanie moved to the other side,” Windhorst said, adding that her decision was influenced by the price and a key concession: she retains her role as team governor for several more years.
Her shift paved the way for the sale — and set off the next, more personal fallout.
Joey and Jesse Buss Fired After Sale: ‘She’s Fired Everyone’
Shortly after the NBA approved Walter’s purchase, the Lakers underwent a major restructuring. Joey and Jesse Buss were terminated from their executive roles, ending all Buss family involvement in basketball operations for the first time since 1979.
The brothers confirmed the news to ESPN’s Shams Charania, calling their firing “heartbreaking.”
“We wish things could be different,” they said in a joint statement. “At times like this, we wish we could ask our Dad what he would think about it all.”
GettySiblings Joey and Jesse Buss (in black hat), from left, were kicked out of the Lakers front office.
Jesse Buss later publicly blamed Jeanie, telling The Athletic that his sister has systematically removed every Buss family member from influence.
“She’s fired everyone,” Jesse said. He described years of tension behind the scenes, claiming he was treated “like an enemy,” and pointing out that the sale only finalized a break that began long before it.
Jeanie Buss’ Power Consolidation Years in the Making
This isn’t Jeanie’s first decisive move to take control. In 2017, she stripped older brother Jim Buss of his role as Executive VP of Basketball Operations during a highly publicized internal battle.
Since then, Jeanie has gradually consolidated authority, culminating in Joey and Jesse’s ouster — leaving billionaire owner Mark Walter with Jeanie as the governing face of the franchise, but no Buss family influence in basketball decisions for the first time in 45 years.
Though the siblings will retain minority ownership shares, they hold no executive roles and no operational power going forward.
Legacy Endures, But Era Ends
Jesse Buss said his loyalty was to the Lakers, not control or credit.
“The only thing I ever wanted was the most success for this team,” he said.
The Buss family still owns a piece of the Lakers. But the controlling voice that once built Showtime, drafted Magic Johnson, traded for Kobe Bryant, and empowered the “Laker Girls” brand machine is now reduced to a single figure: Jeanie Buss — the lone heir left at the top.
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