The Buss family is known for owning the Los Angeles Lakers, but most people are unaware that the family amassed its wealth through real estate investments. According to People magazine, family patriarch Jerry Buss began building his empire by making a $1,000 investment in a 14-unit apartment building in West LA.
A little over 60 years later, his daughter sold a majority stake in the family’s crown jewel for $10 billion. People magazine’s 1980 profile says Buss was raised in Wyoming by a single mother, who paid her rent with tips from her job waiting tables. She also taught him how to play cards in her free time, something that sparked Buss’ love of poker and prepared him for the high-stakes life of an NBA franchise owner.
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“I could play a reasonable hand of bridge by the time I was 4,” Buss told People. “We’d gamble for chocolate bars. In the beginning, she’d have this tremendous edge, but then I’d get to where I could compete with her, and she’d switch games. She was always very proud of me that way. She gave me a lot of confidence.” Rebellious by nature, Buss dropped out of school and began working for Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP).
He might have stayed a railroad worker if not for a chance encounter with chemistry teacher Walt Garrett, who convinced him to go back to school. Buss eventually earned his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, where he ended up teaching part-time after several stints with major engineering firms. According to People, Buss found the button-down world of engineering too restrictive, and he embarked on building a real estate empire.
Buss’ started his real estate portfolio by investing $1,000 in a West LA apartment building in 1959. By 1979, he was a partner in his own firm, Mariani-Buss Associates. The Mariani-Buss portfolio included three hotels, 1,000 single-family homes, and 4,000 apartment units. From there, he made the move that would catapult him to fame as the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.
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At the time, Jack Kent Cooke owned theLakers, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, and the Forum, which was the arena where they played. Buss, who had become involved in pro sports via ownership of the Los Angeles Strings pro tennis franchise, approached Cooke about purchasing the Lakers and Kings. They eventually struck a deal for Buss to buy the Lakers, Kings, the Forum, and a 13,000-acre ranch for $67.5 million.
