Jeanie Buss Moves to Block Siblings’ Sale of 17.8% Lakers Stake
Los Angeles Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss is threatening legal action to stop her siblings from selling the family’s remaining 17.8 percent stake, a move that could destabilize the franchise’s governance and trigger breach of fiduciary duty claims.
Jeanie Buss is taking legal steps to prevent her siblings from selling the Buss family’s remaining 17.8 percent ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers. Her attorney, Adam Streissand, issued a letter Monday demanding that the siblings halt any proposed vote to transfer the shares to majority owners Bob Iger and Josh Kushner.
The opposition rests on a 2017 Los Angeles Superior Court order mandating that Jeanie Buss remain the team’s controlling owner for life. Streissand warned that any attempt to sell the stake without the approval of current co-trustees Jeanie, Janie, and Joey Buss would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court.
Under the Jo Ann C. Buss 2006 Children’s Electing Small Business Trust, known as the JAB Trust, co-trustees are legally bound to vote the shares to maintain Jeanie Buss’s minimum 15 percent ownership requirement. This threshold is critical, as NBA rules dictate that the team’s governor must hold at least a 15 percent stake to retain the position.
A valid resolution to sell the minority share would require four of the six Buss siblings to vote in favor. The siblings involved include Joey, Jesse, Jim, Johnny, and Janie, though Jeanie previously removed Jim from his role as head of basketball operations in 2017 and ousted Joey and Jesse from front office positions following the family’s earlier majority sale to Mark Walter.
Streissand explicitly disputed recent reports suggesting the family had already decided to sell the minority share against Jeanie’s wishes. He declared that any such vote by the siblings would be "void ab initio," citing the explicit 2017 court instructions that trustees must take all reasonable actions to ensure Jeanie Buss is elected controlling owner annually during her lifetime.
This internal trust dispute highlights the complex governance risks inherent in family-controlled sports franchises. For investors and market professionals, the conflict underscores how legacy trust structures can both protect and complicate leadership continuity, potentially inviting protracted litigation that distracts from franchise operations and valuation stability.
