The Buss family is selling its remaining 17.8% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to a group led by Disney's Bob Iger and Josh Kushner — younger brother of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and former White House envoy — giving the duo roughly 83% control of a franchise valued at $12.5 billion. The same people who shuttle between West Wing offices, corporate boardrooms, and NBA ownership suites are the ones running the country, and the rest of us just get the ticket prices.

This is the uniparty elite in its natural habitat. Josh Kushner built his name in venture capital — he founded Thrive Capital and co-founded Oscar Health, as Fox Business reported. His brother Jared parlayed a real estate fortune and a wedding into a West Wing office, then a Middle East diplomacy portfolio. Now the family name is on the Lakers. Bob Iger spent years running Disney, swallowing Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox, building a media empire that shapes what your kids watch. These people move seamlessly between political power and corporate dealmaking regardless of who occupies the Oval Office. Republican or Democrat, the Kushners and Igers always end up at the same table.

The mechanics of the deal tell their own story. The Buss family had already sold controlling interest to Guggenheim Partners CEO Mark Walter last year for $10 billion, with each sibling pocketing $500 million post-tax. But Walter's tenure was short-lived — and conveniently timed. As Fox Business reported, Walter's sale comes amid a federal investigation; the FBI seized his phone and laptop, along with those of a high-ranking Guggenheim Investments executive. Some view the Lakers sale as a quick way for Walter to liquify assets before legal problems mount. The Financial Times also reported that Walter and Todd Boehly are looking to sell their stakes in Chelsea Football Club. When the feds come knocking, the smart money starts moving.

The Buss siblings had little choice but to follow Walter out the door. A tag-along provision in the original sale meant that once Walter sold, the family's remaining shares could be swept into the deal. Yahoo Sports reported that the five other Buss siblings sent Jeanie Buss signatures stating they wanted the family to sell, triggering the clause. The family's statement was diplomatic: "We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction. We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can."

"Exit gracefully while we still can" is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

Jeanie Buss, who has run the franchise since her father Jerry died in 2013, will lose her governor title — NBA rules require at least 15% ownership to hold the role. Iger told the California Post the new group would "honor the agreement" Walter made with Jeanie, but agreements among billionaires have a way of expiring when convenient. The family infighting that defined the post-Jerry years — Jeanie firing brother Jim in 2017, two younger brothers being pushed out of front office roles in November — suggests the Buss era was already on life support.

Jerry Buss bought the Lakers in 1979 for $67.5 million. The franchise is now worth $12.5 billion. That's the kind of return that only happens in a world where asset prices are inflated by the same monetary policy and corporate consolidation that locks ordinary Americans out of the market entirely.

The Kushner-Iger Lakers aren't just a sports story. They're a snapshot of how power actually works in this country — passed between the same hands, in the same rooms, with the same access, no matter who you vote for. The only question is what they'll buy next.