LeBron James had been in business with Mark Walter, whose business empire is under scrutiny from both federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission in tax fraud investigations, long before he joined the Los Angeles Lakers.
Months before he signed with the Lakers in 2018, a limited liability company James controls borrowed $300 million from a pair of Midwestern life insurers advised by an arm of Guggenheim Partners, according to Bloomberg’s report. Walter was the CEO of Guggenheim at the time of the transaction.
The bonds are due in 2049 and were meant to give James an immediate influx of cash that was backed by a stream of future revenue tied to his non-NBA earnings, like sponsorship deals and his lifetime deal with Nike, according to the report. Walter began lending more as he began acquiring the Lakers.
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Walter abruptly agreed to sell his share of the Lakers for $12.5 billion to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger earlier this month. He is cooperating with the investigation into his business empire.
Walter first took a minority stake in the Lakers in 2021 before acquiring a majority controlling stake in 2025. James’ LLC and Walter’s Guggenheim made another transaction in 2022.
In August 2022, when James signed a $97 million contract extension with the Lakers, the same Midwestern insurers provided James’ LLC with more cash. They bought almost $60 million of 34-year bonds with a 5.75% interest rate, according to the report.
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The NBA directed FOX Business’ request for comment to a representative for James who said, “The 2018 and 2022 transactions were a securitization done by Mr. James with his personal, non-NBA salary, assets and income which is a very common financial structure for an individual with this level of earnings and assets.”
“Both transactions were fully approved by NBA. Mr. James has no affiliation with Guggenheim, Sammons Financial, North American Life or Midland National beyond their participation in these transactions.”
FOX Business reached out to the Lakers and Guggenheim Partners for comment and did not immediately get a response.
Walter’s sale of the Lakers came as the businessman was reshaping his portfolio with the investigation ongoing.
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