Geralt Hatten Buss, simply known as Jerry Buss, was a famous American real estate enterpreneur, businessman, philanthropist, chemist, as well as a professional poker player. Jerry Buss is perhaps best known as the owner of several professional sports teams, the most popular being the Los Angeles “Lakers” basketball team. Under Buss’ ownership, “The Lakers” were most successful since their foundation, as they went on to with 10 NBA championships and had such players as Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and James Worthy on their team. An inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Jerry Buss inspired the “Showtime era” in Los Angeles “Lakers” history, when the players would adopt an exciting and fast style of play, which included a lot of field goal attempts, as well as an up-tempo style. Wanting to make basketball games even more entertaining, Jerry Buss hired dancers and live bands that performed during “Lakers” home matches.
Jerry Buss Net Worth $600 Million
A famous businessman, how rich is Jerry Buss? According to sources, Jerry Buss’ net worth is estimated to be $600 million. Undoubtedly, the majority of Jerry Buss’ net worth came from his business ventures.
Jerry Buss was born in 1933, in Salt Lake City, Utah, but later in his childhood moved to Wyoming with his mother. In Wyoming, Buss studied at the University of Wyoming and later came back to Los Angeles to continue his studies in the University of Southern California. It was in this university where Buss earned a degree in physical chemistry. Buss began his career as a chemist in the United States Bureau of Mines, which was a government agency that conducted scientific research of mineral resources. For a brief period of time, Jerry Buss worked in an aerospace company and at the same time was a lecturer at the University of Southern California.
In order to earn more money, which would help him continue teaching, Buss decided to venture into business. When his first $1 000 real estate investment proved to be profitable, Buss chose to focus on this aspect of business and later even co-owned a real estate investment firm called “Mariani-Buss Associates”. Buss’ income started to increase when he purchased several sports teams, among which were the “Lakers”, Los Angeles “Kings” NHL team, as well as WNBA “Sparks Team”. In addition, Buss purchased a multi-purpose indoor arena called “The Forum” in Inglewood, which is the home of the famous Los Angeles “Lakers”.
As a professional poker player, Jerry Buss received a lot of recognition in 1991, when he came third in the World Series of Poker event, and when he won a second place in the World Poker Tour Freeroll event in 2003. Buss even made an appearance in a poker television program called “Poker After Dark”.
Buss was a supporter of various charitable causes and donated approximately $7.5 million to the Department of Chemistry in the University of Southern California, where he previously studied and worked at.
A famous entrepreneur, Jerry Buss died as a result of kidney failure in 2013, when he was 80 years old.
