Report: Joshua Kushner quietly purchased stake in Grizzlies this season
A member of the Kushner family reportedly purchased stake in the Memphis Grizzlies this year.
Joshua Kushner officially became a minority owner of the Grizzlies in February, according to Kevin Draper and Marc Stein of the New York Times. Joshua is the younger brother of Jared Kushner — who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and married to Ivanka Trump.
Kushner, along with Brandon Arrindell, a principal at a Memphis investment management firm and a classmate of Kushner’s at Harvard, purchased stake in the team, per the report. A spokesman for Kushner and the NBA confirmed the deal to the New York Times.
“Brandon Arrindell and Joshua Kushner recently, in their respective individual capacities, purchased minority stakes in the Grizzlies,” a team spokesman told the New York Times.
Kushner reportedly agreed with Grizzlies owner Robert Pera to purchase a share of the team in late 2018. That deal was finalized by the end of February.
According to the New York Times, Jared and his father, Charles, are not involved with the Grizzlies in any way. Members of the Kushner family, like Trump, have attempted to purchase stake in professional sports teams in the past — failing to buy stake in the Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers and the New Jersey Nets. The family has also long been close with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, according to a 2016 feature from The New Yorker, who would attend “many sporting events” with Jared.
Pera first purchased the Grizzlies in 2012 for $377 million. Several minority owners of the Grizzlies enacted a buy/sell clause last year in an attempt to force Pera to either buy them out or sell his 25 percent stake in the team. He opted to do the former — which is likely one of the main reasons he brought in new minority investors. The Grizzlies currently sit near the bottom of the Western Conference standings with a 29-42 record, and are set to miss the playoffs for the second-straight year.
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