{"id":2102216,"date":"2026-08-20T09:30:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T06:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2102216"},"modified":"2026-08-20T09:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T06:30:19","slug":"jerry-buss-left-lakers-to-his-children-its-tearing-their-family-apart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2102216","title":{"rendered":"Jerry Buss left Lakers to his children. It\u2019s tearing their family apart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Jerry Buss wanted his children to run the Lakers after he was gone. How sad he would be to see what his prized possession has done to the people he cherished.<\/p>\n

The Lakers were supposed to be the bond that kept the Buss family connected after his passing. Instead, it\u2019s the wedge splitting them apart.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Five siblings against one. Public accusations. Old wounds made new. Attorneys on both sides profiting off the dysfunction.<\/p>\n

It is a real-life \u201cSuccession\u201d playing out in Hollywood; the Roy family, cloaked in purple and gold, six heirs to a kingdom fighting over the throne. It is messy and uncomfortable \u2026 and it\u2019s impossible to look away.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tempting to dismiss any sympathy for a family bickering over billions. Nobody here is going hungry. Nobody is wondering if the mortgage check will clear this month. That isn\u2019t the tragedy.<\/p>\n

The tragedy is that a father planned for every legal and financial threat to his life\u2019s work except the one that mattered most: what it might do to his children.<\/p>\n

Five of the six Buss siblings want to sell the family trust\u2019s remaining 17.8 percent stake, while Jeanie wants to preserve enough ownership to remain the Lakers\u2019 governor. She believes the trust\u2019s language and a 2017 court order give her the legal protection to block the sale. Ultimately, the courts will likely decide the winner.<\/p>\n

\n

a.showcase-link-container {
\n display: flex;
\n gap: 20px;
\n flex-direction: column;
\n align-items: center;
\n padding: 20px 0px;
\n border-top: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
\n border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
\n text-decoration: none;
\n color: #121212;
\n cursor: pointer;<\/p>\n

.showcase-link {
\n font-family: nyt-franklin;
\n font-size: 14px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 700;
\n line-height: 13.8px;
\n letter-spacing: 1.1px;
\n text-transform: uppercase;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-image {
\n border-radius: 8px;
\n object-fit: cover;
\n width: 200px;
\n height: 150px;
\n margin: 0px;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n width: 120px;
\n height: 120px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-inner-content {
\n display: flex;
\n flex-direction: row;
\n gap: 16px;
\n width: 100%;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-text-content {
\n display: flex;
\n flex-direction: column;
\n gap: 20px;
\n justify-content: center;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n gap: 8px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-title {
\n font-family: nyt-cheltenham;
\n font-size: 24px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 500;
\n line-height: 120%; \/* 24px *\/
\n letter-spacing: 0.01px;
\n text-overflow: ellipsis;
\n overflow: hidden;
\n display: -webkit-box;
\n -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
\n -webkit-line-clamp: 3;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n font-size: 16px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-excerpt {
\n font-family: nyt-imperial;
\n font-size: 16px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 400;
\n line-height: 139%; \/* 19.46px *\/
\n color: #323232;
\n text-overflow: ellipsis;
\n overflow: hidden;
\n display: -webkit-box;
\n -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
\n -webkit-line-clamp: 4;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n font-size: 12px;
\n line-height: 121%;
\n }
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-inputs {
\n .showcase-link-input {
\n width: 100%;
\n font-size: 1rem;
\n background-color: white;
\n margin-bottom: 12px;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-indent {
\n margin-left: 25px;
\n }<\/p>\n

option {
\n width: 100%;
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
\n .native-mobile a.showcase-link-container {
\n background-color: #121212;
\n color: #f0f0ee;
\n .showcase-link-excerpt {
\n color: #c4c4c0;
\n }
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

\/\/ Remove all onclicks on imgs for apps to prevent image zoom on click
\n document.querySelectorAll(‘.showcase-link-image’).forEach((img) => img.removeAttribute(‘onclick’));<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"What<\/p>\n
\n
\n What we\u2019re hearing about the Buss family battle and Jeanie\u2019s Lakers future\n <\/div>\n
\n The Lakers’ sale remains on track. What’s less certain is Jeanie Buss’ future as Lakers’ governor.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Jerry did the best he could, planning for a future he knew he ultimately couldn\u2019t control. He built a succession plan in three layers: collective family ownership, Jeanie as the ultimate authority and operational roles for the other children.<\/p>\n

He divided ownership equally without dividing authority equally. All six children had the same economic interest and a voice in major ownership decisions, but Jerry didn\u2019t intend for all six to run the Lakers simultaneously. Jeanie was the designated controlling owner.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to see how such a structure could eventually breed resentment among those who weren\u2019t selected. Moreover, he couldn\u2019t have predicted how franchise values have soared over the past decade.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Jerry<\/p>\n
\n
\n Jerry Buss, flanked by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (left) and Bob McAdoo, holds the Larry O\u2019Brien Trophy in 1985 after the Lakers defeated the Celtics in Game 6 to win the NBA title. (George Tiedemann \/ Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

If Jerry made one error in the language of his trust, it was perhaps the clause that upon each child\u2019s passing, their shares in the Lakers were dispersed among the remaining siblings. It essentially created a last-man-standing, \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d power structure.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The intent was likely to keep ownership from getting fragmented across potential spouses, grandchildren and subsequent generations. Instead, it has created a perverse incentive for the siblings to sell. Cash out now, enjoy your wealth and leave your inheritance to those of your own choosing. Die while the shares remain in the trust and your siblings get everything.<\/p>\n

By structuring the trust the way he did, Jerry incentivized the very sale he was trying so carefully to prevent. He could transfer the stock. He could establish trusts. He could create a succession plan.<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t make six adult children want the same things forever. That\u2019s the part of inheritance no estate attorney can solve.<\/p>\n

You can leave your children a fortune. You cannot bequeath the devotion to what created it. You cannot put family harmony into a trust. You cannot guarantee that siblings will agree about Dad\u2019s wishes 10 or 20 years after he\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n

And you most certainly cannot predict what happens when the family business Dad wanted everyone to preserve becomes worth more than $12 billion. The numbers have grown so enormous that sentimentality comes with a staggering price.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Everything we know about the Lakers being sold again<\/div>\n
Dan Woike<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”@id”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/88cbUtgKURO09HI\/”,”url”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/88cbUtgKURO09HI\/”,”name”:”Everything we know about the Lakers being sold again”,”description”:”Dan Woike gives us exclusive insight into how and why the Lakers were sold for the second time in two years, including why Mark Walter’s group agreed to sell the team to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. “,”uploadDate”:”2026-08-12T19:43:12.466Z”,”duration”:”PT1M48S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/88cbUtgKURO09HI\/e7DyCqxhbG1x.0000000.jpg”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/88cbUtgKURO09HI\/e7DyCqxhbG1x\/e7DyCqxhbG1x.m3u8″,”transcript”:”The Lakers have been sold. No, this is not a video from last summer. This is a video from today, this summer, 2026, for the second time in 15 months, 14 months now, the team has changed hands. They moved from the Buss family to Mark Walter and now thanks to a $12.5 billion agreement. They will be moving from Mark Walter and the Guggenheim Group to Bob Iger and to Josh Kushner. This is very surprising news. People around the Lakers, people around the NBA did not see this coming. This deal apparently came together very quickly over the course of the weekend. Obviously there are investigations going on into Mark Walter’s finances. I am told at least, you know, at least from people close to the Walter Group that this had nothing to do with it, that this was an opportunity just to make some extra money, that it was a smart investment. Obviously a $2.5 billion increase in evaluation in 12 months is pretty remarkable. But obviously a lot of questions still to be asked, a lot of questions still to be answered. I think right now the major takeaway is that the Lakers are in flux, again, that this is an organization that had the stability of family ownership, which is not a word we would associate with the family ownership. It had certainly its share of drama with the Buss family, but at least we’re under the same roof. For more than 40 years and now in 18 months have changed hands twice. Obviously, the deal still needs to be approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors. A lot has to happen in terms of due diligence and finance because of the rapid nature that things are happening, but we’re going to tackle it all at the athletic, what it means for basketball, what it means for business, what it means for news and everything that’s going on with the investigations and different things like that. It’s never quiet around the Lakers and it wasn’t quiet this morning.”,”ineligibleRegion”:[“BI”,”BY”,”CD”,”CF”,”CU”,”IQ”,”IR”,”KP”,”LB”,”LY”,”ML”,”NI”,”RU”,”SD”,”SO”,”SS”,”SY”,”UA”,”VE”,”YE”,”ZW”],”publisher”:{“@type”:”NewsMediaOrganization”,”@id”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher”,”name”:”The Athletic”,”url”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/”,”foundingDate”:”2016-01-25″,”logo”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”@id”:”https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”url”:”https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”creditText”:”The Athletic”,”height”:”60″,”width”:”435″},”publishingPrinciples”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/”,”sameAs”:”https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic”},”author”:[{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”Dan Woike”}]}<\/p>\n
\n
\n