Jerry Buss

Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss ( born January 27, 1933, Salt Lake City, Utah, † February 18, 2013 in Los Angeles, California ) was an American businessman, and majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, a franchise of the NBA basketball league. During his time the Lakers won the championship ten times.

Life

Buss studied at the University of Wyoming, where in two and a half years he made in 1953 graduated as a Bachelor of Science. He then moved to Los Angeles and attended the University of Southern California, where he earned a Master of Science and doctorate in physical chemistry at the age of 24 years.

Buss worked as a chemist for the Bureau of Mines, today's Mine Safety and Health Administration ( MSHA ). Shortly thereafter, he worked for the air and space industry. After this time, he moved into a property company.

Sport commitment

In 1979 Buss Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Kings for $ 67.5 million by the then owner Jack Kent Cooke. This was the largest ever transaction in American sports. 1987 Buss sold the Kings to Bruce McNall. He took over in 1997, the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.

Under him, and with players like Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the Lakers were one of the most successful and best-performing clubs in the NBA. During his time, the Los Angeles Sparks won two times the title of the WNBA championship. In 2006 he sold the Sparks to Carla Christofferson and Kathy Goodman. In 2010 he was admitted as a promoter of the sport in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Jerry Buss has handed over the responsibility for the LA Lakers to his son Jim and his daughter Jeanie. He worked as a semi- professional poker player in the World Series of Poker.