Jerry Buss
Encyclopedia
Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss Ph.D.
, M.S.
(born 27 January 1934) is an American
businessman, real estate investor
, and a former chemist
. He is the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers
professional basketball
team along with other professional sports franchises in Southern California. Announced as a member of the 2010 induction class of the Basketball Hall of Fame
on April 5, 2010, he was formally enshrined as a contributor to the sport on August 13 of that same year.
, graduating with a B.S.
degree in two and a half years in 1953. He moved to Los Angeles
and attended the University of Southern California
, where he earned a M.S.
and Ph.D.
in physical chemistry
by age 24.
Buss started as a chemist for the Bureau of Mines (now the Mine Safety and Health Administration); he then briefly worked in the aerospace industry and was on the faculty of USC's chemistry department. He originally went into real estate investing
in order to provide an income so he could continue teaching. His first investment in the 1960s was $1,000 in a West Los Angeles apartment building. Finding great success in the real estate business, he pursued real estate investing
full time. In 1979 Jerry purchased Pickfair
Mansion in Beverly Hills from the estate of Mary Pickford
. He was also the co-owner of a real estate investment company called Mariani-Buss Associates with his long time business partner Frank Mariani.
, the Los Angeles Strings. He purchased the Los Angeles Lakers
of the NBA
along with the Los Angeles Kings
hockey
team of the NHL
, The Forum
, and a large ranch from Jack Kent Cooke
in 1979. The purchase price, $67.5 million, made it the largest transaction in sports history at that time. Buss later sold the Kings, retaining ownership of the Lakers and The Forum. He then reached a major advertising agreement with Great Western Bank
for the naming rights
to The Forum, resulting in the official name of the building being changed to the Great Western Forum.
Later, when the WNBA
was formed, Buss took charge of operating that league's Los Angeles
franchise, the Los Angeles Sparks
. Eventually, all three teams moved into a more modern arena in downtown Los Angeles: Staples Center
, which opened in 1999. As part of the deal to move the Lakers into Staples Center, Buss sold the Great Western Forum (which was later reverted to its original name).
The Lakers have been very successful under Buss' ownership, winning 10 NBA championships with such players as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
, Magic Johnson
, James Worthy
, Shaquille O'Neal
, and Kobe Bryant
. The Sparks also experienced their share of success with Buss at the helm, winning two WNBA championships.
In 2002, when the WNBA was restructured to give its teams individual owners, Buss assumed outright ownership of the Sparks. He sold the team in 2006. Buss also owned the Los Angeles Lazers
of the Major Indoor Soccer League
. The Lazers also played in The Forum. The team folded in 1989 and the league folded three years later.
player for many years, but recently he has been more active in tournament games. His best finishes include 3rd in the 1991 World Series of Poker
seven-card stud event and 2nd place in the 2003 World Poker Tour
Freeroll invitational. He has appeared in the GSN
series High Stakes Poker
and the NBC
late-night series Poker After Dark
.
citation after two California Highway Patrol
officers saw him driving his gold Mercedes-Benz
with a 23 year-old woman on the wrong side of the road in the coastal community of Carlsbad
in northern San Diego County. After failing a field sobriety test, Buss was taken into custody, given a blood test and booked on suspicion of driving while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level over 0.08.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
, M.S.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
(born 27 January 1934) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman, real estate investor
Real estate investor
A real estate investor or a real estate entrepreneur to a lesser extent is someone who actively or passively invests in real estate. An active investor may buy a property, make repairs and/or improvements to the property, and sell it later for a profit. A passive investor might hire a firm to...
, and a former chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
. He is the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team along with other professional sports franchises in Southern California. Announced as a member of the 2010 induction class of the Basketball Hall of Fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
on April 5, 2010, he was formally enshrined as a contributor to the sport on August 13 of that same year.
Early life and business career
Buss worked his way through the University of WyomingUniversity of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
, graduating with a B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in two and a half years in 1953. He moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and attended the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, where he earned a M.S.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in physical chemistry
Physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of physical laws and concepts...
by age 24.
Buss started as a chemist for the Bureau of Mines (now the Mine Safety and Health Administration); he then briefly worked in the aerospace industry and was on the faculty of USC's chemistry department. He originally went into real estate investing
Real estate investing
Real estate investing involves the purchase, ownership, management, rental and/or sale of real estate for profit. Improvement of realty property as part of a real estate investment strategy is generally considered to be a sub-specialty of real estate investing called real estate development...
in order to provide an income so he could continue teaching. His first investment in the 1960s was $1,000 in a West Los Angeles apartment building. Finding great success in the real estate business, he pursued real estate investing
Real estate investing
Real estate investing involves the purchase, ownership, management, rental and/or sale of real estate for profit. Improvement of realty property as part of a real estate investment strategy is generally considered to be a sub-specialty of real estate investing called real estate development...
full time. In 1979 Jerry purchased Pickfair
Pickfair
Pickfair was a 56 acre estate in the city of Beverly Hills, California designed by architect Wallace Neff for silent film actors Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Coined "Pickfair" by the press, it was once one of the most celebrated homes in the world...
Mansion in Beverly Hills from the estate of Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
. He was also the co-owner of a real estate investment company called Mariani-Buss Associates with his long time business partner Frank Mariani.
Sports ownership
Buss became an owner in World Team TennisWorld Team Tennis
World TeamTennis is a coed professional tennis league played with a unique team format in the United States. Each match consists of five sets. Each set features a different configuration . Coaches, before the match, decide the order in which the sets will be played...
, the Los Angeles Strings. He purchased the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
of the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
along with the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team of the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
, The Forum
The Forum (Inglewood, California)
The Forum is an indoor arena, in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. From 2000 to 2010, it was owned by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which occasionally used it for church services, while also leasing the building for sporting events, concerts and other events.Along with Madison...
, and a large ranch from Jack Kent Cooke
Jack Kent Cooke
Jack Kent Cooke was a Canadian entrepreneur and former owner of the Washington Redskins , the Los Angeles Lakers , and the Los Angeles Kings , and built The Forum in Inglewood, California and FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.-Early career:Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Cooke moved with his family to...
in 1979. The purchase price, $67.5 million, made it the largest transaction in sports history at that time. Buss later sold the Kings, retaining ownership of the Lakers and The Forum. He then reached a major advertising agreement with Great Western Bank
Great Western Bank
Great Western Bank was a large consumer bank that operated primarily in the Western United States. Great Western's headquarters were in Chatsworth, California...
for the naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
to The Forum, resulting in the official name of the building being changed to the Great Western Forum.
Later, when the WNBA
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
was formed, Buss took charge of operating that league's Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
franchise, the Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...
. Eventually, all three teams moved into a more modern arena in downtown Los Angeles: Staples Center
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
, which opened in 1999. As part of the deal to move the Lakers into Staples Center, Buss sold the Great Western Forum (which was later reverted to its original name).
The Lakers have been very successful under Buss' ownership, winning 10 NBA championships with such players as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...
, Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
, James Worthy
James Worthy
James Ager Worthy is a retired Hall of Fame American college and professional basketball player. Named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, "Big Game James" was a seven-time NBA All-Star and three-time NBA champion...
, Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
, and Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school...
. The Sparks also experienced their share of success with Buss at the helm, winning two WNBA championships.
In 2002, when the WNBA was restructured to give its teams individual owners, Buss assumed outright ownership of the Sparks. He sold the team in 2006. Buss also owned the Los Angeles Lazers
Los Angeles Lazers
Los Angeles Lazers were a soccer team based out of Los Angeles that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1982 to 1989.-History:Major Indoor Soccer League awarded a Los Angeles franchise to Jerry Buss on June 24, 1982. Buss had purchased the Philadelphia Fever and wanted to move it to...
of the Major Indoor Soccer League
Major Soccer League
The Major Indoor Soccer League, known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the USA from 1978 to 1992. After the folding of the North American Soccer League in 1984, the MISL was the Division I soccer league for the United States...
. The Lazers also played in The Forum. The team folded in 1989 and the league folded three years later.
Poker player
Buss has been a high-stakes cash game pokerPoker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player for many years, but recently he has been more active in tournament games. His best finishes include 3rd in the 1991 World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
seven-card stud event and 2nd place in the 2003 World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
Freeroll invitational. He has appeared in the GSN
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
series High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker is a cash game poker television program broadcast by the cable television network GSN in the United States. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. It premiered on January 16, 2006 and ended on December 17, 2007 and it returns back on March 1, 2009 and is...
and the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
late-night series Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark was an hour-long poker television program on NBC. The show made its debut on January 1, 2007, and was cancelled as another victim of the "Black Friday" criminal case due to the show's sponsorship by Full Tilt Poker, one of that case's defendants. on September 23, 2011 For its first...
.
DUI
On May 29, 2007, Buss was issued a DUIDUI
DUI is a three letter acronym that may stand for:* Driving under the influence * Democratic Union for Integration — the largest ethnic Albanian party in the Republic of Macedonia* Data Use Identifier...
citation after two California Highway Patrol
California Highway Patrol
The California Highway Patrol is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and also acts as the state police....
officers saw him driving his gold Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
with a 23 year-old woman on the wrong side of the road in the coastal community of Carlsbad
Carlsbad, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Carlsbad had a population of 105,328. The population density was 2,693.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Carlsbad was 87,205 White, 1,379 African American, 514 Native American, 7,460 Asian, 198 Pacific Islander, 4,189 from other...
in northern San Diego County. After failing a field sobriety test, Buss was taken into custody, given a blood test and booked on suspicion of driving while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level over 0.08.
Relationship with USC
In January 2008, Buss donated $7.5 million to USC's Department of Chemistry to fund two endowed chairs and an endowed scholarship fund for chemistry graduate students; the two chairs were to be named after his mentors at USC, professors Sidney Benson and David Dows. Buss is an inaugural member of the USC College Board of Councilors.External links
- Jerry Buss Hendon Mob tournament results
- Jerry Buss on The Internet Movie Database
- Casper Journal profile