Josh Kushner is on the precipice of adding another major investment to his growing sports portfolio should his $12.5 billion pursuit of a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers gain league approval.
If approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors, the transaction would become the richest sale of a U.S. Professional sports team.
Kushner, 41, is also the founder and managing partner of investment firm Thrive Capital, started backing technology firms in 2011 and previously had stakes in a number of high-profile companies like Instagram, Spotify and OpenAI.
Thrive has invested more than $2 billion into OpenAI, including a $1 billion outlay reported in December at a $285 billion valuation. That business is now valued at an estimated $895 billion.
Kushner’s investment strategy is centered around high-conviction, long-term wagers on individuals and the companies they lead. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has described him as a good-natured supporter of individuals’ ideas irrespective of how other investment partners’ thoughts about the same bets stack up.
His foray into sports has also accelerated dramatically, as Thrive holds non-controlling stakes in the Miami Heat and San Francisco Giants and, in a prior run, an investment position in the Memphis Grizzlies. Kushner also collaborated on this bid with the Lakers co-investor Bob Iger since last year, and was previously involved in the prospect of an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas.
The Lakers transaction would be the largest to date within the sports space for Kushner.
