Mark Walter sells Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion

Topline

Federal investigators are reportedly examining whether insurers controlled by Mark Walter used four companies to improperly funnel billions of dollars in loans to other firms linked to Walter. The investigation comes as Walter's recent unexpected sale of the Los Angeles Lakers coincides with mounting regulatory scrutiny of his broader business empire.

Key Facts

• Federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating whether Walter or his businesses committed fraud by concealing financial ties while borrowing billions of dollars in loans from insurers he controls, according to the Wall Street Journal.

• Companies owned by the same individual can legally lend money to one another, allowing an owner like Walter to use his insurers' funds to finance other businesses. However, such loans must be disclosed so regulators can assess how much of an insurer's money is tied to the owner's other companies and whether that could threaten their ability to pay customers.

• The investigation reportedly centers on four companies that acted as intermediaries for loans issued by Walter's insurance firms.

• Those intermediaries—which are not controlled by Walter—are ABS Capital, Amistad Financial, Bradford Allen, and Hudson Trading, according to the Journal.

• Delaware Life Insurance Company—a Walter-controlled insurer—disclosed in March that it and its affiliate, Clear Spring Life And Annuity, received grand jury subpoenas in February after an internal review found some investments involving related companies had not been properly reported.

• Walter's private holding company, TWG Global, has explored deals with investors in recent weeks to raise money to address the loans under federal scrutiny. Walter has also offered his Guggenheim Partners stake as collateral to secure additional funding, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

News Peg

Walter sold the Lakers last week in a deal valuing the franchise at $12.5 billion—$2.5 billion more than when he bought the team in June 2025. The sale could provide Walter with additional funds as his businesses restructure the scrutinized loans.

Did Mark Walter Sell the Lakers to Benefit Trump's Family?

Walter's decision to sell the Lakers just one year after acquiring the franchise has sparked conspiracy theories suggesting the Trump administration's investigation may have played a role in benefiting Josh Kushner, brother of President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Josh Kushner purchased the team alongside former Disney CEO Bob Iger.

The $12.5 billion deal came shortly after a highly controversial agreement for Kushner's Thrive Capital to acquire a portion of the FIFA World Cup collapsed weeks earlier.

Joe Pompliano, a sports business analyst, wrote on X that it "seems weird that a guy who owns multiple sports teams and was in the middle of rebuilding the Lakers' entire business operation would sell the team for a 20% gain in 2 years at the same time he is being investigated for fraud."

An unnamed White House spokesperson told Front Office Sports that the Lakers sale "has nothing to do with President Trump or his administration." Kushner is a Democrat and has donated to liberal causes.

Forbes Valuation

Walter, who co-founded the investment firm Guggenheim Partners in the 1990s, has a net worth estimated at $7.3 billion as of Monday.

Kushner, whose venture capital firm Thrive Capital was an early investor in Instagram, Spotify, Stripe, and OpenAI, has a fortune estimated at $5.2 billion. He is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, founder of the private equity firm Affinity Partners, whose net worth is estimated at $1 billion.

Key Background

Walter, whose TWG Global conglomerate owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been targeted by federal regulators multiple times over the last decade. His Guggenheim paid a $2