Jeanie Buss Net Worth

What Is Jeanie Buss' Net Worth?

Jeanie Buss is an American sports executive who has a net worth of $1 billion. Jeanie Buss is the daughter of the late Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss and served for more than a decade as the team's president and controlling owner following his death in 2013. Under her leadership, the Lakers navigated a turbulent ownership transition, internal family power struggles, and a return to championship success before ceasing to be a family-controlled franchise in 2025.

Buss began her career at age 19 when she was named general manager of the Los Angeles Strings, a professional tennis team owned by her father. She later became the owner of the Los Angeles Blades of Roller Hockey International and went on to serve as president of the Great Western Forum, the Lakers' longtime home arena. Over time, she assumed an increasingly central role in the Lakers' business operations and was widely viewed as her father's choice to oversee the franchise's non-basketball affairs. She is also the co-owner and promoter of Women of Wrestling (WOW). In 2023, Buss won a Sports Emmy Award as an executive producer of the documentary series "Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers."

When Jerry Buss died in 2013, Jeanie and her five siblings inherited a family trust that controlled 66% of the Lakers, giving each sibling an equal 11% stake. In 2017, after a highly publicized internal power struggle, her siblings formally granted Jeanie full operational control of the franchise. That arrangement remained in place until June 18, 2025, when the Buss family agreed to sell a controlling portion of its stake in the Lakers at a $10 billion valuation. The deal, the largest sale of a U.S. professional sports franchise in history, delivered a massive cash payout to each sibling and marked the end of more than four decades of Buss family control.

Lakers Ownership Stake

Upon Jerry Buss' death in 2013, his six children inherited a family trust that controlled 66% of the Los Angeles Lakers. Each sibling effectively held an equal 11% stake, while minority ownership interests were held by outside investors. For years, the structure preserved family ownership but required consensus among siblings with differing priorities, creating ongoing tension behind the scenes.

Before the 2025 sale, the other Lakers owners included:

• Mark Walter and Todd Boehly: 27%. Mark and Todd, who co-founded private equity behemoths Guggenheim Partners and Eldridge, respectively, bought their 27% stake from AEG founder Phil Anschutz.
• Ed Roski: 7%. Ed is a billionaire real estate developer who owns around 90 million square feet of commercial property in the US. He bought his 8% stake in the Lakers in 1998.

In 2017, the family's fragile governance structure came to a head when Jeanie Buss fired her brother Jim Buss as head of basketball operations. That move triggered a legal battle in which Jim and brother Johnny attempted to remove Jeanie as controlling owner. Jeanie ultimately prevailed, and her siblings formally granted her full operational control of the Lakers, even though ownership remained evenly divided among the six heirs.

Under Jeanie's leadership, the Lakers endured a difficult rebuilding period before returning to the top of the league, winning the 2020 NBA championship.

In June 2025, the Buss family reached an agreement to sell a large portion of its stake in the Lakers to Mark Walter, the CEO of TWG Global and controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in a deal that valued the team at $10 billion. It marked the largest sale of a U.S. professional sports franchise in history. With the sale, Mark increased his stake in the team from 27% to 75% by purchasing 48% from the Buss family, reducing their collective stake from 66% to 18%. So, each of the six Buss siblings receives $1.025 billion in cash while also retaining 3% stakes that are worth $300 million apiece on paper.

The transaction marked the end of more than four decades of Buss family control over the Lakers, though Jeanie Buss remained in place as the team's governor and continued to represent the franchise on the NBA's Board of Governors.

Early Life and Family

Jeanie Marie Buss was born on September 26, 1961, in Santa Monica, California. Raised alongside three siblings by Joann and Jerry Buss, Jeanie was still quite young when her father started to become successful in the real estate world.

In the 1960s, Jerry Buss invested in a West Los Angeles apartment building, a deal that sparked a string of increasingly successful ventures. A Ph.D. graduate in chemistry, Buss ultimately partnered with Frank Mariani to form Mariani-Buss Associates, a real estate investment firm that laid the financial foundation for his later sports empire.

Jerry and JoAnn eventually divorced, an experience Jeanie has described as emotionally difficult during her childhood. Despite the separation, she maintained a close relationship with her father, who increasingly brought her into his professional world. As Jerry began acquiring major sports assets in Los Angeles, including the Lakers, the Kings, and the World Team Tennis franchise Los Angeles Strings, Jeanie was exposed to ownership and operations at an unusually young age.

By age 14, she was attending World Team Tennis meetings with her father and observing how teams were managed behind the scenes. At 17, she chose to live full-time with Jerry, a decision that deepened her involvement in the family business and effectively placed her in an informal apprenticeship for sports ownership.

Although Jerry eventually sold his controlling interest in the Kings, he remained focused on closely managing the Lakers. As part of his string of sports-related acquisitions, Buss also purchased The Forum for $67.5 million. Under Buss' ownership, the Lakers won ten championships and collected an all-star squad that included James Worthy, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant. Jerry played a major role in building the Lakers into a franchise worth $1 billion.

Early Sports Executive Career

While continuing to learn directly from her father, Jeanie Buss attended the University of Southern California, where she graduated with honors after majoring in business. During her college years, Jerry appointed the 19-year-old Jeanie as general manager of the Los Angeles Strings, making her one of the youngest high-level executives in professional sports at the time.

The role provided hands-on experience running a franchise, from player relations to league governance. She later expanded her executive résumé by becoming the owner of the Los Angeles Blades of Roller Hockey International, further broadening her exposure to professional sports operations beyond basketball.

Forum Presidency and Lakers Business Operations

Jeanie went on to serve four years as president of the Great Western Forum, then the Lakers' home arena. In that role, she oversaw venue operations, concerts, promotions, and major sporting events, developing a reputation as a capable and detail-oriented executive rather than a ceremonial owner's daughter.

By the early 2000s, Jerry Buss increasingly positioned Jeanie to oversee the business side of the Lakers, while her brother Jim was expected to handle basketball operations. The arrangement reflected Jerry's long-term succession vision, one that many around the organization believed placed Jeanie at the center of the franchise's future leadership.

By 2005, Jeanie Buss was widely regarded as one of the most influential women in American sports, with executive experience spanning team ownership, arena management, and multiple professional leagues.

Post-Jerry Buss Leadership and Power Consolidation

After Jerry Buss' death in 2013, Jeanie assumed a central leadership role within the Lakers organization. Over time, disagreements emerged over direction and control, culminating in a dramatic front-office shakeup. In 2017, Jeanie fired longtime general manager Mitch Kupchak and removed her brother Jim Buss from his role overseeing basketball operations.

The decision triggered a highly publicized internal power struggle within the Buss family. Jeanie ultimately prevailed, consolidating full operational control of the franchise while ownership remained divided among the siblings. That moment marked the definitive transition from Jerry Buss' shared succession plan to Jeanie Buss as the unquestioned leader of the Lakers' business and organizational structure.

(Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Personal Life

• Jeanie married professional volleyball player Steve Timmons in 1990. They divorced three years later, explaining that she put her career ahead of her marriage.
• Jeanie began dating Phil Jackson, the former head coach of the Lakers, in late 1999. They never actually married and announced their split in 2016.
• In 2017, Jeanie began dating comedian Jay Mohr. They announced their engagement in December 2022. They married in Malibu in September 2023.
• Jeanie posed nude for "Playboy" magazine in 1995.

Vince Bucci/Getty Images

Real Estate

In 2019, Buss sold her home in Playa Vista for $2.575 million. She had originally purchased the property for $2.45 million back in 2017. Although the house was originally listed for $225,000 more than the final selling price, she accepted the price cut. That being said, Buss did put some work into the place after buying it two years prior in an effort to make it a more attractive prospect for future buyers. A quick splash of neutral paint and modern fixtures helped spruce it up before the property was put back on the market. In total, her former Playa Vista home spans almost 3,200 square feet of living space and lies on a corner lot. Further features include a flagstone patio, French doors, and a three-car garage. Buss allegedly owns another property in Playa Vista as well, and she reportedly purchased this four-bedroom condo in 2018.

In 2020, Jeanie acquired a new property in the Playa del Rey neighborhood of Los Angeles. She paid $2.6 million for the residence, which conveniently lies just a few miles from Los Angeles International Airport. Notable features of the four-bedroom waterfront property include a pool, a spa, and a gym. The 2,200-square-foot home also lies within the Breakers complex, a gated community within the Playa del Rey area. Although Buss had purchased a number of properties throughout the LA area in the past, this latest acquisition was her first waterfront residence.

In December 2025, Jeani paid $4.2 million for an oceanfront duplex in Playa Del Rey, California.

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