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.
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
