For a billionaire and tech investor bearing one of the most recognizable surnames in the United States, Josh Kushner has nonetheless contrived to remain conspicuously absent from the front pages and largely peripheral to the global public discourse.

This summer has witnessed a seismic shift in this regard, at least within those swathes of the globe where an unbridled passion for sport prevails.

Kushner, 41, and his partner, former Disney CEO Bob Iger, concluded a remarkable accord this week to acquire the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers from Mark Walter at a valuation of $12.5 billion — the most exorbitant figure ever recorded for a professional sports franchise transaction.

The past fortnight has proven tumultuous for the 41-year-old Kushner, who, having seen his heavily censured bid to acquire a stake in prospective World Cup revenues—a scheme orchestrated by FIFA President Gianni Infantino—come to naught, has now secured the acquisition of the Lakers in a deal of astonishing celerity.

Until this month, few were even cognizant of the fact that Jared Kushner — President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and his longstanding governmental deputy — possessed a younger sibling who commanded a flourishing commercial conglomerate, was wedded to a supermodel, and harbored an ardent devotion to basketball.

Despite Josh Kushner’s deliberate eschewal of the limelight and his marked reticence in granting interviews, the ascendancy of his venture capital enterprise, Thrive Capital, has, over the past several years, elevated him to the echelons of moguldom.

Forbes appraises Kushner’s personal fortune at approximately $5 billion.

Kushner’s collaborator in this historic undertaking is hardly a revelation to anyone, at least within Los Angeles, the entertainment industry, or the broader corporate sphere.

The septuagenarian Iger helmed The Walt Disney Co. across two tenures over the preceding two decades, shepherding the Hollywood juggernaut into the streaming epoch before he relinquished his role at the Mouse House earlier this year.

Los Angeles remains in a state of profound astonishment over this transaction: a mere ten months after Walter — the proprietor currently orchestrating the resurgence of the back-to-back World Series champion Dodgers — formally assumed control of the Lakers, he has, in essence, divested them for a prospective multibillion-dollar windfall to two new owners bereft of Walter’s sporting proprietorship acumen or credibility among Southern California’s fanbase.

Who, then, are the two men abruptly vested with stewardship of the Los Angeles Lakers, a franchise that has secured seventeen NBA championships?

The scion of a real estate magnate, Kushner established Thrive Capital in 2009 and the health insurance enterprise Oscar Health in 2012.

Thrive Capital's ascendancy was propelled by its prescient early investments in OpenAI and SpaceX, among other technology ventures.

He maintains a close rapport with OpenAI's chief executive, Sam Altman.

Kushner and Iger reportedly first crossed paths eight years ago, having been introduced by Iger’s wife, Willow Bay, and Kushner’s then-girlfriend, Karlie Kloss, whom he has since wed.

What initially constituted a cordial mentorship evolved into a commercial alliance shortly before Iger’s first departure from Disney.

Iger joined Thrive Capital in 2022 as a venture partner, whereby he facilitated Kushner's integration into the broader business milieu while Kushner, in turn, acquainted him with the intricacies of the technological sphere.

He departed a mere few months later to resume his tenure at Disney, yet maintained close ties with Kushner, and the two rekindled their collaboration earlier this year.

Iger confirmed to the California Post on Wednesday that he had allied with Kushner in the pursuit of an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas, only to execute a dramatic volte-face over the weekend upon learning that Walter might be contemplating the divestiture of the Lakers.

“We immediately recognized that, given the franchise’s intrinsic value and the team’s iconic stature, pursuing it would be a strategically astute move,” Iger remarked.

“The transaction was concluded within a mere three days.

It is as straightforward as that.”

Iger conceded that the transaction had been concluded with such alacrity that neither he nor Kushner had been afforded the opportunity to formulate any protracted strategic vision for the Lakers.

Kushner may be a neophyte to the Lakers, yet he is by no means unacquainted with the NBA.

Having formerly possessed a minority interest in the Memphis Grizzlies, he disposed of that holding to procure a share in the Miami Heat—a stake he is now compelled to surrender to consummate his purchase of the Lakers.

Furthermore, Kushner and Kloss have been frequently sighted at Knicks games.

Iger is a longstanding devotee of basketball — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reportedly introduced him to Bay, a former NBA journalist, three decades ago — yet his particular provenance renders his ownership of the Lakers somewhat incongruous.

Having grown up as a devoted Knicks supporter, Iger found himself unable, upon relocating to Los Angeles, to align with the rival Lakers—a predicament that led him to become one of the Clippers' most conspicuous devotees, securing season tickets and cultivating a close rapport with former point guard Chris Paul.

In progressive Los Angeles, the announcement of the Lakers' principal new owner on Wednesday elicited a collective raising of eyebrows among thousands of the team's fans—yet the matter is far more nuanced than it initially appears.

Kushner’s surname is indeed among the most politically weighted in the world, yet both Josh Kushner and Kloss have publicly disavowed any alignment with the conservative convictions presently championed by his brother and their father, Charles Kushner.

Josh Kushner has repeatedly contributed to progressive political candidates, and he once remarked in an interview that “liberal values have guided my life.”

Kloss is a vocal proponent of reproductive rights and other progressive causes.

Iger has characterized himself as a political independent espousing progressive personal convictions.

He held a brief tenure on a business advisory council for Trump in 2017, from which he resigned owing to his steadfast commitment to environmental conservation.