Mark Walter is an American businessman and the chief executive officer of Guggenheim Partners, a privately held global financial services firm with more than $325 billion in assets under management and headquarters in Chicago and New York. He is also the part-owner and chairman of the Major League Baseball franchise Los Angeles Dodgers and co-owner of Premier League club Chelsea. He also owns the

Professional Women's Hockey League The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL; , ''LPHF'') is a Professional sports, professional Ice hockey#Women's ice hockey, women's ice hockey league in North America, wholly owned and operated by the Mark Walter, Mark Walter Group. It con ...

(PWHL).

Early life and education

Mark Walter is a

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

, native and graduate of Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School. He attended Creighton University before earning his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree at Northwestern University.

Business History

In 1996, he co-founded the Liberty Hampshire Company, LLC with Steven E. Johnson, in Chicago. In 2000, he helped found Guggenheim Partners and serves as its CEO. According to Forbes, Walter has personal stakes in

Beyond Meat Beyond Meat, Inc. is a Los Angeles–based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company's initial products were launched in the United States in 2012. History Founding Ethan Brown founded the company in ...

and

Carvana Carvana is an online used car retailer based in Tempe, Arizona. The company is the fastest growing online used car dealer in the United States and is known for its multi-story car vending machines. Carvana was named to the 2021 ''Fortune 500' ...

. In 2021, it was reported that Walter had purchased numerous commercial and historic buildings in

Crested Butte, Colorado Crested Butte is a home rule municipality located in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,639 at the 2020 United States Census. The former coal mining town is now called "the last great Colorado ski town". Crested ...

for an unknown purpose. Walter also serves as a trustee or director of several organizations including the

Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1937 by philanthropist Solomon R. Guggenheim and his long-time art advisor, artist Hilla von Rebay. The foundation is a leading institution for the collection, preserv ...

, which is named after the

Guggenheim family The Guggenheim family ( ) is an American-Jewish family known for making their fortune in the mining industry, in the early 20th century, especially in the United States and South America. After World War I, many family members withdrew from th ...

, Northwestern University and the

Field Museum The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

. In 2011, Walter made a $30,800 contribution to the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

, as well as a $5,000 contribution to Obama for America.

Los Angeles Dodgers and Sports Business

On May 1, 2012, Walter helped lead

Guggenheim Baseball Management Guggenheim Baseball Management is the principal owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers professional baseball team. The consortium consisted of Guggenheim controlling partner Mark Walter, and also includes as investors former Los Angeles Laker Earvin "M ...

, a private partnership formed in 2011 to acquire the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the successful purchase of the storied baseball franchise for $2.15 billion. His partners in Guggenheim Baseball Management include Peter Guber, Earvin “Magic” Johnson,

Stan Kasten Stan Kasten (born February 1, 1952) is the former president of the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals, and the current president and part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Long involved in Atlanta professional sports, he also served as ge ...

, Todd Boehly, and

Bobby Patton Guggenheim Partners is a global investment and advisory financial services firm that engages in investment banking, asset management, capital markets services, and insurance services. Organization The firm is headquartered in New York City an ...

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...

and her partner Ilana Kloss joined the Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group in 2018. Entrepreneurs Alan Smolinisky and Robert L. Plummer joined the ownership group in September 2019. On December 10, 2012, in its annual survey of the "50 Most Influential People in Sports Business," the '' SportsBusiness Journal'' named Walter the 8th most influential person in sports business due to the historic Dodgers purchase. Walter and several of his partners also bought the Los Angeles Sparks basketball team in 2014. He later joined the bid led by his partner Boehly to buy the English football club Chelsea in April 2022. The 2018-19

PSA PSA, PsA, Psa, or psa may refer to: Biology and medicine * Posterior spinal artery * Primary systemic amyloidosis, a disease caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins * Prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme used as a blood tracer for pros ...

World Squash Championships The World Squash Championships are squash events for men and women organised by the Professional Squash Association. The men's event was first held in 1976 in London, England and the women's was inaugurated in 1976 in Brisbane, Australia. Overv ...

presented by the Walter Family doubled the previous highest purse of $500,000 to $1 million. Each winner was guaranteed the largest paycheck in history. Mark and Kimbra Walter have contracted for four more $500,000 Windy City Opens and four more $1 million World Championships over the next eight years, through 2027.

PWHL

On June 29, 2023, the Mark Walter Group and BJK Enterprises purchased the intellectual property and other key elements of the

Premier Hockey Federation The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and ha ...

(PHF), a professional women's hockey league in the United States and Canada. Headed by Walter and

, respectively, both businesses had entered a partnership with the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) in May 2022, with the intent to create a new professional women's ice hockey league in North America. The buyout changed the landscape in North American women's professional hockey, as it resulted in a single league, the

, with stakeholders from both the PHF and PWHPA. The new league started in Toronto on January 1, 2024, with King performing the ceremonial puck drop. The Mark Walter Group owns the inaugural six teams. The league's championship trophy, the

Walter Cup The Walter Cup (french: La coupe Walter) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) playoff champion. History Origins On April 4, 2024, the Professional Women's Hockey League announced in a pre ...

, is named after Mark Walter and his wife, Kimbra.

References

External links