Key Takeaways
- • Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger are acquiring the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion, pending NBA Board of Governors approval—the largest professional sports team sale price in U.S. history.
- • Kushner's investment thesis centers on backing founders and companies with strong conviction: his $1.3 billion initial bet on OpenAI has grown as the company reached a $285 billion valuation in December 2025, with Thrive Capital deploying over $2 billion total into the ChatGPT maker.
- • Thrive Capital, founded by Kushner in 2011 at age 26, has backed category-defining startups including Instagram, Spotify, and OpenAI, establishing itself as a premier early-stage venture firm with consistent execution on high-conviction bets.
- • The Lakers deal represents Kushner's entry into sports ownership and signals continued appetite for marquee alternative assets beyond traditional venture capital, leveraging his track record of identifying transformational investment opportunities.
Summary
Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger have announced a partnership to acquire the Los Angeles Lakers for a record-breaking $12.5 billion, subject to NBA Board of Governors approval. The transaction would represent the largest sale price for a professional sports franchise in U.S. history, underscoring the stratospheric valuations now commanding elite sports properties.
Kushner, the younger son of real-estate developer Charles Kushner (pardoned by President Trump in 2020 and currently U.S. ambassador to France), has built a reputation as a disciplined venture investor with exceptional pattern recognition. He founded Thrive Capital in 2011 at age 26 and has since deployed capital into some of the most consequential technology companies of the past decade: Instagram, Spotify, and most notably OpenAI.
His OpenAI investment exemplifies Kushner's investment philosophy. When Thrive made its initial $1.3 billion commitment to the ChatGPT maker, few institutional investors were willing to back the venture. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman characterized the company as anything but a certain bet. Nevertheless, Kushner's conviction—rooted in belief in the founder and a gut instinct about the company's long-term viability—proved prescient. Thrive has subsequently deployed over $2 billion into OpenAI across multiple funding rounds. Most recently, in December 2025, Thrive invested approximately $1 billion at a $285 billion valuation, demonstrating sustained confidence in the company's trajectory as generative AI matured into a dominant technology platform.
At the November 2024 Fortune Global Forum, Kushner articulated his dual investment criteria: confidence in the person leading the enterprise and conviction that the company would compound over decades. This framework has translated from venture capital into sports ownership, as the Lakers acquisition represents Kushner's entry into premium alternative assets while Bob Iger brings operational and brand expertise from his tenure as Disney CEO. The transaction remains subject to league approval but signals continued institutional capital flowing toward trophy assets and founder-led vehicles.
Kushner, the younger son of real-estate developer Charles Kushner (pardoned by President Trump in 2020 and currently U.S. ambassador to France), has built a reputation as a disciplined venture investor with exceptional pattern recognition. He founded Thrive Capital in 2011 at age 26 and has since deployed capital into some of the most consequential technology companies of the past decade: Instagram, Spotify, and most notably OpenAI.
His OpenAI investment exemplifies Kushner's investment philosophy. When Thrive made its initial $1.3 billion commitment to the ChatGPT maker, few institutional investors were willing to back the venture. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman characterized the company as anything but a certain bet. Nevertheless, Kushner's conviction—rooted in belief in the founder and a gut instinct about the company's long-term viability—proved prescient. Thrive has subsequently deployed over $2 billion into OpenAI across multiple funding rounds. Most recently, in December 2025, Thrive invested approximately $1 billion at a $285 billion valuation, demonstrating sustained confidence in the company's trajectory as generative AI matured into a dominant technology platform.
At the November 2024 Fortune Global Forum, Kushner articulated his dual investment criteria: confidence in the person leading the enterprise and conviction that the company would compound over decades. This framework has translated from venture capital into sports ownership, as the Lakers acquisition represents Kushner's entry into premium alternative assets while Bob Iger brings operational and brand expertise from his tenure as Disney CEO. The transaction remains subject to league approval but signals continued institutional capital flowing toward trophy assets and founder-led vehicles.
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