Lukas and Samantha Walton, members of the Walton business family that owns supermarket behemoth Walmart, have acquired a minority stake in the Chicago Bulls NBA franchise.
The size of the stake has not been revealed, although reports in the US suggest that it stands at around 10%, with the Waltons acquiring the existing shares of “certain limited partners”.
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Regardless, Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Bulls since 1985, will remain the controlling owner of the team.
The agreement also includes a minority stake in the United Center, the 20,000+ capacity home of the Bulls and the Chicago Blackhawks NHL ice hockey team, which is jointly owned by Reinsdorf and Blackhawks ownership, the Wirtz family.
With the Bulls valued at around $6 billion (per Forbes’ October 2025 estimate), that stake could come in at around the $600 million mark.
Reinsdorf, who is now 90 years old, may be considering a succession plan for the Bulls ownership, perhaps in the event none of his four children are interested in continuing with the franchise in the long run, although the presence of his son Michael Reinsdorf as team president and chief executive somewhat negates that line of thinking.
This agreement, though, does not contain provisions for the Waltons to take up ownership in the future, with the Reinsdorfs reaffirming their commitment to the franchise.
Should he sell, Reinsdorf would stand to make a massive return on the $16 million he paid for the Bulls back in 1985. Accounting for Inflation, that fee stands at just $16 million in 2026, further illustrating the change in sports franchise values over the past 40 years.
Lukas Walton is the nephew of Rob Walton, who is the former chair and primary heir to the Walmart fortune, the company having been co-founded by his father (Lukas’ grandfather), Sam Walton.
Rob Walton already owns the Denver Broncos NFL franchise, while his son-in-law, Greg Penner, and daughter Carrie Walton-Penner recently acquired a minority stake in the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball team.
Ann Walton Kroenke, Rob Walton’s cousin, is married to US businessman Stan Kroenke, who owns the LA Rams NFL Team, the Denver Nuggets NBA franchise, and English soccer side Arsenal, among others.
The family, then, is heavily involved across US sport, and Lukas and his wife, Samantha, are the latest to engage in the industry.
On the stake acquisition, the pair said: “The Chicago Bulls are as iconic as the city itself, and this transaction reflects our dedication to the city’s future. We have long admired the vision the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families have set forth for The 1901 Project, and we look forward to the United Center’s continued positive impact on Chicago’s West Side.”
The 1901 Project is the Reinsdorf and Wirtz family’s multi-billion-dollar private urban development project in the Chicago West Side area.
A glittering period of success in the 1990s made the Chicago Bulls one of the NBA's most prominent franchises.
In recent years, though, the team has struggled, making the playoffs proper just once since 2017.
