The web of hidden deals that entangled the Dodgers owner in a federal investigation

Mark Walter stunned the sports world in 2012 with a deal that left his wealthy rivals wondering how the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, who was barely known outside of Wall Street, managed to finance the acquisition of the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the most prominent teams in Major League Baseball.

Today, few tycoons can claim they do not know Walter and his international sports empire, whose operations span all seasons of the year. His modus operandi, in which he used loans from insurance companies under his control to finance other investments, is now under scrutiny by authorities.

In the years following the Dodgers acquisition, Walter acquired stakes in the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, Chelsea of the English Premier League, and a Formula 1 team, and also financed the women's hockey league. He also accumulated luxury assets, including the Malibu beach house of music mogul David Geffen, worth $85 million, and a string of business partners including former Los Angeles Lakers star Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Mubadala Capital, an investment fund from Abu Dhabi.

How does it work?

Walter also added the Lakers to his sports empire in June 2025, in a record-breaking deal that was closed within 72 hours based on a $10 billion valuation for the NBA team.

Exactly three months later, as Walter landed in his private jet at Chicago International Airport, federal agents approached him with a search warrant. They confiscated his phone and laptop, as well as the devices of his employees who were with him on the plane.

Mark Walter

• Personal: 66 years old, married +1, originally from Iowa, currently resides in Chicago.

• Professional: Investment manager and philanthropist. Owner of Guggenheim Partners and TWG Global.

• Something else: A big fan of sports teams. Owns 27% of the Dodgers baseball team, 12% of the company that owns the English football club Chelsea, investor in the women's hockey league, and previously owned the Lakers basketball team.

The confiscation of the devices marked a turning point in the federal investigation of Walter's business empire. Authorities focused on several entities that acted as intermediaries between the insurance companies under Walter's control, which provided the loans, and the businesses under his control that received them. Authorities are seeking to determine if Walter and his businesses committed fraud and concealed these financial ties.

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Authorities have not accused Walter or his businesses of any crimes, nor have they determined that they bear any civil liability. A spokesperson for the Manhattan federal prosecutor's office declined to comment.

"We have always acted in good faith, and the suggestions that we tried in any way to circumvent our obligations are simply not true," said a spokesperson for TWG Global, Walter's conglomerate.

Regulators allow loans to be granted to related parties, meaning entities that have an affiliation with the owner of the insurance company, as long as the loans are reported and do not exceed certain limits. In Walter's case, questions raised by federal authorities led to an internal audit at the insurance companies, which found that transactions of this type totaling about $20 billion were not reported to regulators in Delaware, where Walter's two main insurance companies are located.

Now Walter is rushing to sell or repay many of the unreported loans to avoid rating downgrades. As of last weekend, he needed billions of dollars.