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Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Los Angeles Lakers icon Magic Johnson reportedly is now a billionaire because of a questionable deal with pal Mark Walter. The current Los Angeles Dodgers owner is also under federal investigation.
Walter has been the subject of a lot of rumor and speculation over the last month. When he began the process to buy the Lakers a year ago, it seemed like a smart business move, as the man who spent big bucks to bring the Dodgers back to title contention was now expanding his business empire into basketball. Then he shockingly sold the Lakers for $12.5 billion to Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger in August.
On the surface, while surprising, it seemed like another smart business move, as Walter flipped the team a year after buying it for $2.5 billion more than he originally paid. However, he is also currently under investigation by the FBI for some curious business transactions.
The ongoing probe reportedly started last year and centers on allegations that two of Walter’s insurance companies made investments in some of his other businesses (including some related to the Dodgers) without proper labeling. Those companies have since owned up to underreporting the investments by billions of dollars in a practice that makes it look like Walter was committing tax fraud.
It has put all his business decisions, including the purchase of the Lakers and the billions he has put into the Dodgers, into question. Yet, that didn’t stop Johnson — a Dodgers minority owner — from making a massive deal with Walter a couple of years ago.
Los Angeles Dodgers owner randomly sold Magic Johnson one of his insurance companies
INVESTIGATION: Before Mark Walter sold the Lakers, he bought the Dodgers. Then came $350M via Magic Johnson — and hidden deals with each other.
"Magic Johnson helped him out with the Dodgers deal," insider reveals. "They're trying to…put him on the map of being a billionaire." pic.twitter.com/tlweIjiCHK
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) September 4, 2026
According to investigative sports journalist Pablo Torre, Walter randomly sold one of the insurance companies that turned him into a billionaire, EquiTrust Life, to Johnson in 2023. That purchase and the value that comes with it, in turn, pushed the basketball Hall of Famer into the billionaire bracket as well.
That seems like quite a nice thing for one friend to do for another. Well, Torre spoke with a compliance agent at Walter-owned investment firm, Guggenheim Partners, and they revealed they were never asked to do an in-depth background check to see if their boss should complete the deal with Johnson, even though that would normally be something they’d handle.
“That’s what our group was designed to do. Just to clear any kind of conflict in transactions. It probably should have been,” the source claimed.
When asked why Walter would sell EquiTrust off to the Lakers legend without sending the deal through compliance first, the compliance expert had an interesting opinion.
“I think Magic Johnson helped them out with the Dodgers deal,” they said. “They’re trying to help out a friend. You know, give him a level of wealth maybe he didn’t have before. EquiTrust put him on the map of being a billionaire. That was a massive increase for him.”
One has to now wonder if that deal will now put the Lakers great on the radar of the FBI along with his pal Walter. EquiTrust reportedly has assets with an approximate worth of $37.8 billion and total available capital worth $3.4 billion.