Mark Walter didn’t spend $10B of his own money on the Lakers. He led a group of pensions, sovereign funds, and billionaires. Most of the cash came from institutional capital—he just structured the deal and took control. Power isn’t about ownership, it’s access
Saudi-style investing is here: nations fund U.S. icons, while American faces like Magic front deals. Mark Walter’s $10B Lakers buy is backed by UAE’s Mubadala—proof that countries don’t need credit, just control and returns. The flag is local, but the power is global. It pays to teach our kids here.
If Buss had just invested his purchase price in the market at the time he bought the Lakers, it would be worth pretty close to the price his kids were paid for it.
Comments
2012: I don’t follow the NBA, a bunch of spoiled millionaires. I like my athletes humble like Julian Edelman
2024: go C’s!!!