FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter, right, talks with manager Don Mattingly prior to their baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Sept. 3, 2012, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
The billionaire slated to take over the controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers has built a career leading businesses investing in everything from sports franchises to artificial intelligence.
Mark Walter is CEO of the global investment and advisory company Guggenheim Partners, which is estimated to have more than $325 billion in assets. He’s also co-founder and CEO of holding company TWG Global.
Forbes estimates Walter’s net worth is $6.1 billion. The publication ranked him at No. 216 on its Forbes 400 list last year.
Walter received an undergraduate degree in business administration from Creighton University and a law degree from Northwestern University, but ultimately chose business over a career in law.
In the mid-1990s, he co-founded Liberty Hampshire, an investment management firm in Chicago. That business became part of Guggenheim Partners, which Walter co-founded in the late 1990s.
In addition to Guggenheim, Walter co-founded TWG Global with entrepreneur and investor Thomas Tull. The company holds a portfolio of finance and insurance sector companies, including Guggenheim Investments, Guggenheim Securities, Group 1001 Insurance and Delaware Life. It also includes aerospace and defense technology company Shield AI.
Last month, TWG Global announced a partnership with Palantir Technologies and Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, maker of Grok, aimed at developing artificial intelligence for use in the financial services industry.
TWG Global also includes investments in sports, media and entertainment franchises, such as the controlling interest in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Premier League club Chelsea, the Professional Women’s Hockey League and — through TWG Motorsports — ownership of several auto racing teams including Cadillac Formula 1.
Beyond business, Walter and his wife, Kimbra, have founded or contributed to various philanthropic organizations, including the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, the Academy Group, Chicago Beyond and OneGoal.
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A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
