10 things you need to know about Mark Walter, the new Lakers shareholder

After having a brilliant career in starting a company and acquiring sports franchise, come and meet Mark Walter, the new major shareholder of the Lakers.

For the first time since 1979, the Bass family no longer owns the Los Angeles Lakers, Mark Walter acquired the team at a valuation of $10 billion.

The move is rightly shocked the sports world because it greatly shocked one of the most popular teams in one of the world's largest leagues and one of the largest cities, and its potential impact will be hard to know in the next few years.

So, who is Mark Walter, the Lakers' first new boss in the past 50 years? Where did he come from? Where does his wealth come from? How does he own many large teams in Los Angeles now? There is no doubt that his journey to join the Lakers is fascinating.

1. Mark Walter is not a Los Angeles native

Although he seems to have half of the top teams in Los Angeles, Mark Walter is not actually a Los Angeles County native. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Walter grew up in the Midwest, where his father worked in a concrete block manufacturing plant and he was a Cubs fan since he was a child.

2. Mark Walter attended Clayton University undergrad

Although Walter was from the Midwest, he eventually attended Clayton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Walter studied accounting and eventually received his bachelor's degree in 1982.

3. After completing his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University, Walter traveled to Chicago to pursue his law degree at Northwestern University.

While watching his favorite baseball team regularly, Walter also met his wife, Kimbra, in Chicago, who are still husband and wife.

4. Mark Waterler's wealth comes from the insurance industry

How did Walter spend $10 billion to acquire the Lakers? Most of Walter's wealth comes from the insurance industry, and he has been in the insurance industry since 2000. After founding his first large company, Liberty Hampshire Company, in 1996, Walter decided in 2000 to start a new company with the Guggenheim family, thus turning to the insurance industry.

5. Mark Walter is the founder of Guggenheim Partners

In addition to the sports portfolio, Mark Walter is best known for his founding of Guggenheim Partners, one of the largest insurance companies in the world.

The company was co-founded with Peter Lawson-Johnson II and managed $330 billion in assets. During Walter's CEO, Guggenheim has become one of the largest companies in the world and has entered the sports industry to establish Guggenheim Baseball Management.

6. The Guggenheim Management Company acquired the Dodgers in 2012. In 2012, the Dodgers were listed for sale due to the investigation by the then-boss Frank McCourt, and the team applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

A few years ago, Walter failed to successfully acquire the Astros. Afterwards, he and the Guggenheim Group jointly invested more than $2 billion to acquire the team, including the team, affiliated institutions, home court and surrounding land. But strangely, he did not acquire the parking lot that Los Angeles rents for $14 million a year.

7. Mark Walter personally owns 27% of the Dodgers

Although Guggenheim Baseball Management Group is the main owner of the Dodgers, Walter personally invested $100 million to acquire the team and also owned 27% of the team.

8. Magic Johnson is also a minority shareholder of the Dodgers, as many fans in Los Angeles know, Lakers legendary Magic Johnson is also a minority shareholder of the Dodgers, who helped the Guggenheim Group acquire the Dodgers in 2012. Although his name appeared in many headlines about the acquisition at the time, Johnson still had only single digits of owners in the Dodgers.

9. Mark Walter already owns the Los Angeles Sparks

Walter and Johnson teamed up to acquire the Los Angeles Sparks, and the Guggenheim CEO owned one-sixth of the team's shares. Under Walker, the Sparks won two league titles and won the WNBA championship in 2016.

10. Mark Walter has always been the Lakers boss-in-chief

Although the news of Walter's acquisition of the Lakers surprised the sports world, it has strictly become an option as he acquired 20% of the team's shares from Philip Anschutz in 2021 and was given the power to become a major shareholder in the team when there is a chance in the future. Will the Lakers be sold publicly? It's hard to say, but after holding a fifth of the team's shares for several seasons, Walter finally bought the team directly at a valuation of $10 billion.