Mark Walter stunned the sports world in 2012 with a deal that left his wealthy rivals wondering how the chief executive of Guggenheim Partners, little-known outside Wall Street, had funded the purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the premier teams in Major League Baseball.
Few moguls can now claim they aren’t familiar with Walter and his international sports kingdom, which spans every season. His playbook, using loans from insurance companies he controls to finance his other investments, is now under government scrutiny.
In the years after the Dodgers deal, Walter bought stakes in the WNBA’s L.A. Sparks, England’s Chelsea FC and a Formula One racing team, as well as financing the Professional Women’s Hockey League. He also accumulated trophy properties, including music impresario David Geffen’s $85 million Malibu beach house, and a roster of business partners that includes former Los Angeles Lakers superstar Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Mubadala Capital, an Abu Dhabi investment fund.
Walter in June 2025 added the Lakers to his sports stable, in a record-breaking deal that was sealed in 72 hours and valued the NBA team at $10 billion.
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