Who is prospective LA Lakers owner Mark Walter?

Walter’s influence spreads far and wide but he appears someone prefers to stay in the background as he rarely gives interviews.

“I’m a fairly quiet and private person,” he reportedly told the Chicago Tribune, external in 2012. “So I haven’t sought publicity.

“My belief is if you just keep your head down and work, and you have the fortune to be successful, there really aren’t moments that change you.

“Yes, your company gets bigger and owns more things, but you’re just the same person you were the day before.”

When he spoke to Los Angeles Times reporters at the time of the LA Dodgers sale, Walter said:, external “I’m a baseball fan, but I’m not qualified to make baseball decisions, and I don’t want to pretend to be.

“I’m here to support and help my people as much as I can. I’m here to cheer as loud as I can.”

He also gave an idea of his thoughts on the influence of sport and part of the reason he invests in it when he was quoted in a press release, external in 2023 that announced his joint venture with the International Tennis Federation for the BJK Cup.

“I believe sports are one of the most essential avenues for social change and can make a real difference in developing a more equitable society,” he said.

BBC football reporter Nizaar Kinsella said: “Mark Walter has probably got the strongest connection to Todd Boehly in Chelsea ownership group,” said BBC football reporter Nizaar Kinsella.

“He’s the richest part of the ownership in terms of individual net worth.

“I think there was a conscious effort from the current ownership to make Todd Boehly the sort of frontman of the Chelsea bid when it came out, so that’s why he is well known, but Mark owns a similar proportion of Chelsea as Todd Boehly.

“There is this divide in the Chelsea ownership and he would very much be on the Todd Boehly side.

“He kind of feels like a silent partner and I’d say of all the people that own parts of Chelsea, he’s the one that I’ve seen least of.”