Just last month, Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter was in the headlines after agreeing to sell his controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers to businessmen Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a record $12.5 billion valuation.
Now, Walter is again facing attention for a much more negative reason, and this time, Lakers legend Magic Johnson is also part of the story.
Pablo Torre’s Latest Claim Regarding Magic Johnson
On September 4, 2026, investigative journalist Pablo Torre made a series of striking claims about Walter and Johnson during an interview with PBS News’ William Brangham.
Torre discussed an alleged financial connection between the two involving life insurance company EquiTrust and questioned whether Johnson played a key role in helping Walter structure the financing behind his purchase of the Dodgers.
“Magic Johnson was the key aspect of how Mark Walter wound up loaning himself more than $300 million to enable the purchase of the Dodgers for a record price.”
“Magic Johnson became a billionaire because of an insurance company called EquiTrust from his good friend and fellow Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter… He also made an announcement that I’m selling this thing to Magic, even though ‘that transaction had not yet closed,” Torre said during the interview.
According to Torre’s reporting, Walter sold EquiTrust to Johnson around 2014 or 2015. At roughly the same time, EquiTrust was loaning about $350 million to Walter’s media company. That money, Torre said, helped support a huge local television deal connected to the Dodgers, averaging roughly $334 million per year.
The arrangement has raised questions because Walter was effectively on both sides of the television deal. Torre and sources cited in the investigation allege that the transaction was not properly disclosed as an affiliate transaction. They also questioned whether Johnson’s involvement helped Walter structure the Dodgers financing in a way that avoided more obvious self-dealing concerns.
Perhaps the most eye-catching part of Torre’s report was his suggestion that the EquiTrust transaction may have effectively benefited Johnson in a major way.
“I need you, Magic, I need to wear you as a costume … in order to avoid what would be a violation of securities law…. when Magic enabled it and became a billionaire, he also became a key aspect of a recurring pattern in how Mark Walter was running his insurance companies,” Torre explained during the interview how the conversations might have gone.
Torre and his sources alleged that the sale of EquiTrust functioned as a kind of “gift” or repayment to Johnson for helping Walter with the Dodgers deal. The transaction reportedly played a major role in Johnson reaching billionaire status.
Walter led the purchase of the Dodgers in 2012. His ownership group, which included Johnson as a minority partner from the beginning, agreed to buy the franchise for approximately $2.15 billion. The amount at that time was a record price for a Major League Baseball team.
The deal was announced in March 2012 and officially closed on May 1. Walter became the controlling owner, while Stan Kasten took over as team president and CEO, with Johnson becoming one of the most recognizable faces in the ownership group.
Now, years later, Torre’s investigation is raising questions about what happened behind the scenes.
As of September 2026, federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating Walter’s broader financial empire, as per the Wall Street Journal. The probe reportedly involves billions of dollars in related-party loans and investments connected to insurance companies under his control, including Delaware Life and Clear Spring.
Investigators are examining disclosure issues and whether some of these arrangements helped finance major sports acquisitions, including the Dodgers.
