Late Lakers Owner Jerry Buss’ Empire Started With Him Buying A Building In West LA For $1,000-His Daughter Just Sold The Team For $10 Billion

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The Buss family is known for owning the Los Angeles Lakers, but most people are unaware that the family amassed its wealth through real estate investments. According to People magazine, family patriarch Jerry Buss began building his empire by making a $1,000 investment in a 14-unit apartment building in West LA.

A little over 60 years later, his daughter sold a majority stake in the family’s crown jewel for $10 billion. People magazine’s 1980 profile says Buss was raised in Wyoming by a single mother, who paid her rent with tips from her job waiting tables. She also taught him how to play cards in her free time, something that sparked Buss’ love of poker and prepared him for the high-stakes life of an NBA franchise owner.

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“I could play a reasonable hand of bridge by the time I was 4,” Buss told People. “We’d gamble for chocolate bars. In the beginning, she’d have this tremendous edge, but then I’d get to where I could compete with her, and she’d switch games. She was always very proud of me that way. She gave me a lot of confidence.” Rebellious by nature, Buss dropped out of school and began working for Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP).

He might have stayed a railroad worker if not for a chance encounter with chemistry teacher Walt Garrett, who convinced him to go back to school. Buss eventually earned his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, where he ended up teaching part-time after several stints with major engineering firms. According to People, Buss found the button-down world of engineering too restrictive, and he embarked on building a real estate empire.

Buss’ started his real estate portfolio by investing $1,000 in a West LA apartment building  in 1959. By 1979, he was a partner in his own firm, Mariani-Buss Associates. The Mariani-Buss portfolio included three hotels, 1,000 single-family homes, and 4,000 apartment units.  From there, he made the move that would catapult him to fame as the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.

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At the time, Jack Kent Cooke owned theLakers, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, and the Forum, which was the arena where they played. Buss, who had become involved in pro sports via ownership of the Los Angeles Strings pro tennis franchise, approached Cooke about purchasing the Lakers and Kings. They eventually struck a deal for Buss to buy the Lakers, Kings, the Forum, and a 13,000-acre ranch for $67.5 million.

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Buss’ timing could not have been better. The Lakers had an all-time great player in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and they used their 1979 pick in the NBA draft to select Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Together, Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar would come to epitomize the “showtime” era of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise. Showtime was Buss’ vision, and it included more than just up-tempo play.

Buss leveraged his team’s geographic location and high visibility to make Lakers’ games must-see events for Hollywood stars. Luminaries like Jack Nicholson and Dyan Cannon were regulars at the Forum, and the team went on an unprecedented run of success under Buss’ leadership. They won 10 championships during the Showtime era, which was instrumental in the NBA’s emergence as a major revenue sport.

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By the time Buss passed away in 2013, the team’s value had skyrocketed. According to the Los Angeles Times, Buss set up a trust that divided his interest in the Lakers among his children before his death. It also named his daughter Jeanie Buss as governor, a position that gave her ultimate authority over the franchise’s basketball and business operations.

Under her leadership, the Lakers have transitioned from the Kobe Bryant era to the LeBron James era. James was pivotal in helping the Lakers win their 11th championship since 1979, and the team looks to have positioned itself for the future by acquiring superstar Luka Doncic.

In June, ESPN reported that the Buss family had reached an agreement to sell a controlling stake in the club to Mark Walter for $10 billion. Jeanie Buss will continue as governor for the immediate future, and the family will retain a 15% stake in the club for the time being.

The deal is still pending approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors, who will meet in July. ESPN said the $10 billion sale price is a record high for a professional sports team in the U.S. It’s amazing to think that this all started with a $1,000 investment in 1959.

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