$12.5 Billion in 72 Hours: Joshua Kushner Acquires the Los Angeles Lakers

Jared Kushner, husband of Ivanka Trump, Middle East peace mediator, and real estate entrepreneur, is accustomed to being in the global media spotlight. However, this week it was his younger brother, Joshua Kushner, who stole the show. In a massive deal estimated at $12.5 billion, Joshua acquired the legendary basketball team, the Los Angeles Lakers, in partnership with Bob Iger, a senior advisor and former CEO of the Disney corporation.

The deal, as described by sources familiar with the details, sounds surprisingly simple. Kushner and Iger initially planned to acquire a franchise for an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas. When prices skyrocketed, the two changed direction and turned to established, existing teams. They submitted a purchase offer to the Lakers' owner, Mark Walter, for the club that Walter had purchased only 14 months earlier at a valuation of $10 billion. Walter, the billionaire and founder of Guggenheim Partners, who is currently dealing with a federal investigation into his company and a liquidity crunch, accepted the offer in just 72 hours.

From a Technology Empire to the Basketball Court

On the surface, a basketball team seems more like a status symbol than a natural addition to Kushner's investment portfolio, which focuses on artificial intelligence and innovative technologies through his venture capital fund, Thrive Capital. Alongside huge investments in companies like OpenAI, Stripe, and SpaceX, Kushner has previously noted that his core investment thesis also values "iconic brands" that will be immune to future technological disruptions. According to reports in the US, the Lakers fit this definition exactly.

Kushner has previously held minority stakes in other sports teams, including the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat (he will now have to sell his shares in the Heat to own the Lakers). In addition, Thrive acquired a stake in the San Francisco Giants baseball team earlier this year.

The Liberal and Quiet Brother

Comparisons between the Kushner brothers are inevitable. Like his older brother, Joshua (41) is a modern Orthodox Jew who keeps kosher and observes the Sabbath. He and his wife, former supermodel Karlie Kloss, divide their time between New York and Miami, where they share a massive waterfront estate with their three children. But unlike Jared, who is always in a suit and deeply identified with the political right and the Donald Trump administration, Joshua adopts the casual look of Silicon Valley, and he and his wife define themselves as declared liberals. Despite the political and stylistic differences, associates testify that the brothers maintain a close relationship.

Joshua is known for his humility and empathy, rare qualities in the predatory world of venture capital. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has noted that there is no investor he recommends more than Joshua, especially after Kushner fought to return him to his position following his temporary removal from the board in 2024.

A Legacy of Building and Family Crises

The story of the Kushner family encapsulates the American dream, with all its ups and downs. The brothers' grandparents survived the Holocaust after fleeing the Novogrudok ghetto. They arrived in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where they began building a real estate empire that made the family one of the wealthiest and most influential in the area.

While Jared was on track to integrate into the family business, his promotion accelerated dramatically under difficult circumstances when their father, Charles Kushner, was sent to prison in 2005. The father was convicted of tax evasion and extortion. Joshua was then a young student at Harvard, where he began his independent path. After experiencing a social venture in Latin America and a year at Goldman Sachs, he founded Thrive Capital in 2009 with an initial capital of only $5 million.

The Future: Artificial Intelligence and Timeless Assets

Today, Thrive Capital has become one of the largest shareholders in OpenAI, second only to SoftBank. The company first invested in the ChatGPT developer in 2023, and today, with the company valued at $852 billion, Thrive is expected to record huge profits. However, the fund's strategy of focusing almost exclusively on OpenAI also carries dangers, especially in light of increasing competition from companies like Anthropic.

Alongside technological investments, Kushner is also expanding into more traditional fields through an arm called 'Thrive Eternal', dedicated to assets that are not exposed to the risks of the artificial intelligence revolution, just like the Los Angeles Lakers team. And for those wondering if the new billionaire owner will start going down to the sidelines and deciding which players will take the court, Kushner's associates reassure and firmly claim that he will leave basketball decisions to the professionals alone. "That's just not his way," they conclude.