Josh Kushner is a venture capital billionaire, the founder of Thrive Capital, and the brother of Jared Kushner. In the last day, he’s made one of the biggest business moves in sports history: teaming up with former Disney CEO Bob Iger to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers for a record-shattering $12.5 billion, in a deal that came together in a matter of days and stunned the entire sports world. Fans and readers searching for Josh Kushner Height, Weight, Age, Net Worth, Wife, DOB want the complete picture, and here we’ve put together his full profile along with everything breaking on the historic Lakers sale.
Josh was born in Livingston, New Jersey, into one of the most prominent real estate and business families in the country, and has spent the past decade and a half building his own independent reputation as one of the most successful venture capitalists of his generation, well beyond the family name that first brought him public attention.
Josh Kushner Full Profile
Name: Joshua Kushner
Date of Birth: July 12, 1985
Birth Place: Livingston, New Jersey, USA
Josh Kushner Profession: Venture Capitalist, Founder of Thrive Capital; Co-Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers
Nationality: American
Religion: Jewish
Josh Kushner Wife: Karlie Kloss, supermodel, whom he married in 2018
Josh Kushner Horoscope: Cancer
Josh Kushner Age: 41
Josh Kushner Net Worth: Estimated at over $6 billion
Josh Kushner Weight: 79 KG (approximately 175 lbs)
Josh Kushner Height: 6 Feet 1 Inch (185 cm)
Body Type: Slim
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Breaking News: Kushner and Iger Buy the Lakers for a Record $12.5 Billion
In a deal that stunned the sports and business worlds alike, Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger have agreed to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion, according to multiple reports first broken by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. The sale sets a new all-time record for a U.S. professional sports team, surpassing the previous record set just last year when Dodgers owner Mark Walter purchased a controlling stake in the Lakers from the Buss family for a then-record valuation of approximately $10 billion.
Kushner and Iger confirmed the deal directly in a joint statement: “As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world. We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans, and the city of Los Angeles.” The deal still requires formal approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors before it can officially close.
A Deal That Came Together in Just Days
According to Shelburne’s reporting, the entire transaction unfolded with remarkable speed. Kushner and Iger had actually been involved separately in the NBA’s ongoing expansion process, exploring the possibility of landing a new franchise in Las Vegas, before making a stunning pivot: rather than pursuing an expansion team, the pair approached Mark Walter directly with an aggressive offer to buy the Lakers outright. Shelburne reported that Kushner and Iger first approached Walter with their proposal on a Sunday, and the deal came together in just the following days before being publicly reported.
That rapid timeline is especially notable given how recently Walter himself had taken control of the franchise. Walter’s original purchase of a controlling stake in the Lakers from the Buss family wasn’t even approved by the NBA until October 30, 2025, meaning his tenure as majority owner lasted less than a year before agreeing to sell to Kushner and Iger for a new record price.
Why Mark Walter Decided to Sell
Walter, the CEO of Guggenheim Partners — a global investment firm managing more than $345 billion in assets — addressed his decision to sell in a statement reflecting on his brief but meaningful tenure as Lakers owner: “Owning the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of the great honors of my life — an extraordinary investment, but what I will carry with me is the community, the fans, and a city that treats this team as family. I am grateful to Jeanie Buss, the Buss family, the players, and the staff for welcoming me into this chapter. The Lakers belong to Los Angeles, and I have every confidence the best is still ahead.”
The sale also arrives amid a separate, notable complication for Walter: Bloomberg reported last month that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors were investigating potential financial improprieties at two of Walter’s insurance companies and at Guggenheim Partners itself, the sprawling financial firm he co-founded and continues to lead. Walter’s TWG Global holding company controls those insurers, his stake in Guggenheim, and additional ownership stakes in other major sports properties, including MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers and the English Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club.
What This Means for the Buss Family’s Continued Role
A key detail carried over from Walter’s original purchase agreement is preserved in the new sale: the Buss family will maintain a 15% ownership stake in the Lakers, and Jeanie Buss will continue serving as the team’s governor. Iger has confirmed that the new ownership group intends to honor Walter’s original arrangement with Buss, meaning she’ll remain in that governing role for at least five years following the terms established in the original 2025 sale agreement, even as majority control shifts to Kushner and Iger.
That continuity was specifically highlighted in Kushner and Iger’s own statement, which emphasized their respect for “the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss,” signaling a deliberate intention to preserve the Buss family’s decades-long legacy and connection to the franchise even as the team’s ownership structure undergoes this latest, dramatic change.
Who Is Josh Kushner? Beyond the Family Name
Josh Kushner has spent much of his career working to establish an independent business reputation separate from his family’s prominent real estate background and his brother Jared’s high-profile political career as senior advisor to President Donald Trump and husband to Ivanka Trump. Josh founded Thrive Capital, a venture capital firm that’s grown into one of the most successful and closely watched investment firms in Silicon Valley and beyond, with early and notable investments in major technology companies that have significantly built his personal fortune over the past decade and a half.
Kushner had already established himself within professional sports ownership circles before this latest deal, holding a minority ownership stake in the Miami Heat and previously holding a stake in the Memphis Grizzlies as well. Under NBA ownership rules, he’ll be required to divest both of those existing stakes if this new Lakers purchase is formally approved by the league’s Board of Governors, given restrictions on owning stakes in multiple NBA franchises simultaneously.
Kushner’s Other Recent Sports and Business Ventures
Beyond his NBA ownership interests, Kushner has remained an active and ambitious figure across major sports business dealings recently. He reportedly attempted to purchase the World Cup operations from FIFA just last month, though that particular deal was ultimately scrapped before completion. That earlier attempted deal reflects just how aggressively and broadly Kushner has been pursuing major sports ownership and business opportunities in recent months, culminating now in this successful, record-breaking Lakers acquisition.
Who Is Bob Iger? The Media Titan Joining Kushner’s Bid
Bob Iger, Kushner’s partner in the Lakers purchase, brings his own extraordinarily significant business résumé to the deal. Iger served as CEO of the Walt Disney Company across two separate stints, first from 2005 to 2020, before the company’s board asked him to return to the role in 2022 following the dismissal of his successor, Bob Chapek. Iger’s term as Disney CEO concluded earlier this year, freeing him to pursue this new, major sports ownership venture. Before his lengthy Disney tenure, Iger previously served as president of ABC, giving him decades of experience at the very highest levels of American media and entertainment leadership.
Iger has also already established his own presence in professional sports ownership beyond this new Lakers deal, having become the controlling owner of Angel City FC, the Los Angeles-based NWSL women’s soccer team, back in 2024 — giving him direct, hands-on experience specifically with Los Angeles sports ownership even before this latest, far larger acquisition.
Reaction From Lakers Legends and Current Stars
The sale has already generated significant reaction from within the Lakers organization itself, both from franchise legends and current players. Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, a former part-owner of the team and past president of basketball operations, publicly congratulated Iger on social media following the announcement, lending his considerable stature and connection to the franchise’s history in support of the new ownership transition.
Current Lakers superstar Luka Dončić also addressed the ownership change directly and enthusiastically, writing: “Being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA. I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise. I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together.” That statement reflects a notably positive, forward-looking response from the team’s current on-court centerpiece, offering an early, reassuring signal to Lakers fans anxious about what yet another ownership change might mean for the team’s competitive trajectory.
The Lakers’ Storied History and Championship Legacy
The scale of this deal reflects the Lakers’ status as one of the most valuable and successful franchises in all of professional sports. With 17 NBA championships to their name, the Lakers rank among the most decorated teams in league history, having most recently won the title during the 2019-20 season. Interestingly, despite their now-permanent association with Los Angeles, the franchise’s roots actually trace back to Detroit, where it was founded as the Detroit Gems in 1946 by Morris Winston and C. King Boring, before eventually relocating and becoming one of the most iconic and valuable brands in global sports.
That combination of championship pedigree, massive global fan following, and the team’s location in one of the world’s largest media markets is central to understanding why the Lakers commanded such an extraordinary $12.5 billion valuation — a figure that not only breaks the previous North American sports ownership record but does so by a substantial margin, underscoring just how dramatically valuations for elite professional sports franchises have continued climbing in recent years.
What Happens Next in the Sale Process
With the deal now publicly confirmed by all parties involved, the transaction still requires formal approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors before it can officially close, a standard procedural step required for any change in majority ownership across the league. Given the scale and prominence of this particular sale, league approval is expected to receive significant attention and scrutiny, though deals of this nature involving already NBA-vetted, financially qualified buyers like Kushner and Iger typically proceed toward approval in a matter of weeks to months following the initial announcement, barring any unforeseen complications.
Josh Kushner’s Path to Building Thrive Capital
Kushner founded Thrive Capital in 2009 while still a student at Harvard Business School, building the firm gradually into one of the most respected and successful venture capital operations in the country. Thrive has built a reputation for early, high-conviction investments in major technology companies, with the firm’s portfolio and track record helping establish Kushner as one of the more significant figures in venture capital, a world traditionally dominated by longer-established Silicon Valley firms rather than New York-based operations like Thrive.
That success has translated into substantial personal wealth for Kushner well beyond what most people associate with his family’s real estate background, with his own fortune built primarily through his venture investing career rather than inherited family real estate holdings. That distinction has become increasingly relevant as Kushner has built his own independent public profile in recent years, including his expanding presence in professional sports ownership that’s now culminated in this record-setting Lakers purchase.
Understanding the Kushner Family’s Broader Public Profile
Josh Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, who served as senior advisor to President Donald Trump during his first term and remains a significant figure in Trump’s political and business orbit. Jared’s marriage to Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, has made the broader Kushner family a subject of sustained political and business media coverage over the past decade, extending well beyond their original prominence as a major East Coast real estate family built primarily by patriarch Charles Kushner.
Josh has generally maintained a notably different public profile from his brother, focusing his own public identity on his venture capital career, his marriage to supermodel Karlie Kloss, and now his expanding sports ownership interests, rather than direct involvement in the political sphere that’s defined much of his brother’s recent public life. That distinction has allowed Josh to build a business and public reputation that, while still connected to the broader Kushner family name, remains substantially defined by his own independent professional accomplishments.
Josh Kushner’s Marriage to Karlie Kloss
Kushner has been married to supermodel and tech entrepreneur Karlie Kloss since 2018, following a relationship the two had maintained for several years prior to their wedding. Kloss, one of the fashion industry’s most recognizable models, has also built her own independent business ventures, including founding Kode With Klossy, a organization focused on teaching young women coding skills, reflecting a shared interest between the couple in technology and entrepreneurship well beyond their respective, already high-profile primary careers.
The couple share two sons together, and Kloss has occasionally spoken publicly about balancing her modeling and business career with family life alongside Kushner’s own demanding venture capital and, now, expanding sports ownership commitments.
How the Lakers Sale Compares to Other Major Sports Deals
The $12.5 billion Lakers valuation dramatically exceeds previous benchmark sales across major American professional sports. The deal surpasses not only Mark Walter’s own $10 billion purchase of the team just last year, but also stands well above other recent landmark sports transactions across the NFL, NBA, and MLB, reflecting the continued, rapid escalation in valuations for the most prestigious, championship-caliber franchises in major American sports leagues. That trajectory reflects broader trends of increasing global interest in top-tier sports franchises as investment assets, driven by factors including growing media rights values, expanding international fan bases, and sports franchises’ relative scarcity as a genuinely limited category of premium investment assets compared to more commonly available investment opportunities.
Industry analysts have specifically pointed to the NBA’s continued global growth and the Lakers’ unique combination of championship history, star power, and location in the massive Los Angeles media market as key factors justifying such an extraordinary valuation, even accounting for the broader trend of rising sports franchise values across the industry as a whole.
What NBA Board of Governors Approval Actually Involves
The remaining approval process required before this deal can officially close involves the NBA’s Board of Governors, composed of a representative from each of the league’s 30 franchises, reviewing the prospective new owners’ financial qualifications, background, and fitness to operate a major professional sports franchise. That review process typically examines factors including the buyers’ financial resources and funding sources, their business reputation and history, and their plans for the franchise going forward, ensuring new ownership groups meet the league’s established standards before formally transferring control of a franchise.
Given Kushner and Iger’s already substantial, well-documented business track records and existing familiarity within professional sports ownership circles — Kushner through his prior NBA minority stakes, and Iger through both his Angel City FC ownership and his decades of high-level media industry leadership — the formal approval process is widely expected to proceed relatively smoothly, absent any unforeseen complications arising during the league’s standard vetting procedures.
The Lakers’ Current On-Court State Heading Into New Ownership
This ownership change arrives at a notable moment for the Lakers as a basketball team, following a season that saw the franchise post a winning record and continue building around superstar Luka Dončić, acquired in a blockbuster trade that reshaped the team’s championship aspirations. The team’s core roster construction and competitive positioning heading into the new ownership era will likely become an early point of focus for Kushner and Iger, given their stated ambitions to “compete at the highest level” as expressed in their joint statement following the sale’s announcement.
That competitive backdrop adds real stakes to how quickly and smoothly the transition to new ownership unfolds, given that any disruption to the team’s basketball operations or front office continuity during a pivotal roster-building period could carry meaningful consequences for the Lakers’ on-court performance in the seasons immediately following the sale’s completion.
Why This Deal Is Generating Such Massive Attention
Several factors have combined to make this sale one of the biggest sports business stories of the year. The sheer scale of the $12.5 billion price tag, a genuine, unprecedented record for any North American professional sports franchise, would alone generate substantial coverage. But the story carries additional layers of intrigue: the remarkably fast timeline in which the deal came together, the surprising pivot from an NBA expansion pursuit into an outright franchise acquisition, the involvement of two extraordinarily high-profile individual buyers in Kushner and Iger, and the added political dimension stemming from Kushner’s family connection to the Trump administration through his brother Jared.
That combination of record-breaking financial stakes, boldface-name buyers, and genuine surprise at how quickly the transaction unfolded has made this story spread rapidly across not just sports media, but general business and entertainment news coverage as well, reflecting just how significant a moment this represents for professional sports ownership more broadly.
What Fans Can Expect From the Transition
Lakers fans navigating yet another ownership change in as many years have reason for cautious optimism based on the early public signals from all parties involved. The preserved role for Jeanie Buss as governor, the enthusiastic early endorsement from current star Luka Dončić, and Magic Johnson’s public support all suggest a transition designed to maintain continuity and stability for the franchise’s basketball operations, even as majority financial control shifts dramatically to this new ownership group.
Still, given how recently the team’s ownership last changed hands, some degree of fan uncertainty and adjustment is likely as Kushner and Iger begin actively stepping into their new roles, assuming the deal receives the expected NBA Board of Governors approval in the coming weeks and months.
The Broader Trend of Media and Tech Billionaires Buying Sports Franchises
Kushner and Iger’s Lakers purchase fits within a broader, accelerating trend of technology and media billionaires acquiring major professional sports franchises in recent years, as sports team ownership has increasingly come to be viewed as both a prestigious status symbol and a genuinely attractive long-term investment asset class among the world’s wealthiest individuals. That trend has driven much of the dramatic escalation in franchise valuations seen across the NBA, NFL, and other major leagues over the past decade, with an expanding pool of extraordinarily wealthy potential buyers competing for a genuinely limited supply of available premium franchises.
Iger’s background specifically at the intersection of media and entertainment, paired with Kushner’s technology-focused venture capital career, reflects that broader pattern directly: both men bring backgrounds well outside traditional sports team ownership, yet both have built the kind of extraordinary personal wealth and industry connections that increasingly define who’s able to compete for ownership of the world’s most valuable sports franchises in today’s market.
Quick Recap
Josh Kushner, the 41-year-old founder of venture capital firm Thrive Capital and brother of Jared Kushner, has agreed alongside former Disney CEO Bob Iger to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers for a record-breaking $12.5 billion, in a deal that came together in just days after the pair pivoted away from pursuing an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas. Standing 6 feet 1 inch tall, Kushner will need to divest his existing minority stakes in the Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies if the deal receives NBA Board of Governors approval, while the Buss family will retain a 15% stake in the franchise, with Jeanie Buss continuing on as team governor per the terms of the original 2025 sale agreement. Mark Walter, who purchased his controlling stake in the Lakers less than a year ago for a then-record $10 billion, is selling amid a separate ongoing federal investigation into his broader financial holdings, while current Lakers star Luka Dončić and franchise legend Magic Johnson have both publicly welcomed the new ownership group as the historic sale moves toward final league approval.
This piece reflects reporting through August 12, 2026.