Dr. Jerry Buss was an American entrepreneur and professional sports franchise owner with a net worth of $600 million.
Jerry Buss’ net worth stemmed mostly from his ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.
He was also the former owner of the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL, and the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA (soccer).
Dr. Jerry Buss, who died on Monday at the age of 80, was known for his vast impact in professional sports, his astounding achievement as a modern-day owner, and his triumph as a businessman who treated everyone with decency and respect.
Humble Beginnings
Jerry Buss was a self-made man who exemplified the American Dream with his rags-to-riches narrative.
Gerald Hatten “Jerry” Buss, a Great Depression youngster who grew up in poverty in Wyoming, understood the hardships of a blue-collar life and started working at a young age.
Buss began working for his stepfather’s plumbing firm at an early age, waking at 4:30 a.m. three hours before school to dig trenches in the freezing earth.
Later in high school, Buss worked at a local hotel for two dollars a day. He dropped out of school to work for the railroad, then went back to get his undergraduate degree and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Southern California.
After graduating from USC in 1959, Buss utilized the money he had earned from his first job to purchase a 14-unit rental property in West Los Angeles for a $6,000 down payment and a $100,000 bank loan.
Eighteen years later, Buss had turned this $6,000 down buy into a $350 million real estate empire.
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Dr. Jerry Buss Is Remembered.
Dr. Jerry Buss, true to his character, waited until the conclusion of the All-Star Weekend to depart this planet rather overshadow the weekend’s sports entertainment event, which he definitely created.
He didn’t want to be the center of attention. He just cared about one thing: winning.
He did it with fury as well.
In his 34 years as owner of the Lakers, his team has reached the NBA Finals 16 times and won 10 championships.
Dr. Jerry Buss, a Wyoming native with big eyes and a big heart, was living the American Dream.
We’re celebrating his life today, as well as his contributions to the city of Los Angeles and his unmatched effect on the sport.
Dr. Jerry Buss was a one-of-a-kind businessman who will go down in history as one of the finest in Los Angeles, if not the whole sport.
Keep fighting and resting in peace, JB.
As a result of this, he may be able to invest in one of the greatest basketball franchises of all time.
Buss paid $67.5 million to billionaire Jack Kent Cooke in 1979 for the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings, the Forum sports stadium, and even a California property, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Lakers’ roster has included legends like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O’Neal.
Forbes valued the Lakers at $1 billion in the month leading up to Buss’ death.
Buss was a “visionary owner whose influence on our league is tremendous,” as ex-NBA commissioner David Stern put it to The New York Times in 2013.
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How much is the Buss family trust worth?
What is the net worth of the Buss family? The Buss siblings possess a 66 percent stake in the Los Angeles Lakers and are worth billions of dollars.
If the franchise were placed on the market today, the Buss family would almost surely collect more than $4 billion, but a bidding war may drive it considerably higher.
Jerry’s Wife and Children
Jerry Buss is a happily married man. From 1957 until 1972, he was married to JoAnn Mueller, and they had four children: Johnny in 1957, Jim in 1959, Jeanie in 1961, and Janie in 1964.
Later, he had two more daughters with a girlfriend, Karen Demel Joey in 1985 and Jesse in 1988.