Jeanie Buss seeks to block family's sale of remaining Lakers stake
Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is moving through her lawyer to stop her five siblings from selling the family's remaining 17.8% stake in the club, arguing the vote is invalid without her consent.
A rift has emerged within the family that has controlled the Los Angeles Lakers since 1979, as governor Jeanie Buss tries to block her siblings from selling the family trust's remaining stake in the franchise.
The dispute comes amid a wider ownership shake-up. Last week, Josh Kushner — brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump — and former Disney chief executive Bob Iger agreed to buy the controlling interest in the Lakers from Mark Walter for $12.5bn. Walter himself had bought his stake from the Buss family only last year, for roughly $10bn, in a deal that kept Jeanie as governor through 2030.
On Monday, the wider Buss family said in a statement that they had voted to sell their remaining 17.8% stake to the incoming ownership group, saying it was time to "exit gracefully" while continuing to support the Lakers and Los Angeles.
Jeanie's lawyer, Adam Streisand, has since said she intends to contest that decision. The Buss family trust is held by the six children of late owner Jerry Buss, and Jeanie has served as the Lakers' governor since her father's death in 2013. According to Streisand, any sale vote is void without Jeanie's approval, since she is one of three co-trustees alongside siblings Joey and Janie Buss.
In a letter to the other five siblings, Streisand argued the co-trustees are obligated to preserve a minimum 15% ownership stake to ensure Jeanie remains the Lakers' controlling owner, and that any move undermining that would breach trust and fiduciary duty. He has demanded the other family members publicly confirm Jeanie's status as controlling owner and take no further action on the disputed vote to sell the 17.8% stake.
