Magic Johnson once called Mark Walter a mentor who taught him business. Now, the business ties between the basketball legend and the billionaire investor are facing scrutiny as federal prosecutors examine financial dealings involving Walter’s insurance companies.
Johnson made the comments while speaking with Walter at the 2024 Milken Conference in Los Angeles.
“Part of my secret sauce was to align myself with great partners like Mark Walter, and to also allow great men like him to mentor me and teach me business,” Johnson said.
How their business relationship began
Walter first worked with Johnson in 2012 when his group bought the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2.15 billion.
Johnson became a prominent hometown figure during the bid. The deal marked the start of a business relationship that later expanded into the insurance industry.
In 2015, Johnson acquired control of EquiTrust Life Insurance from Walter’s Guggenheim Partners.
EquiTrust later became part of Amistad Financial Group, which acquired the insurer last year.
The ownership structure has since drawn attention because of Amistad’s links to Walter’s wider business network.
Insurance deals under scrutiny
Federal prosecutors are investigating how Walter’s insurance companies loaned more than $20 billion to other businesses connected to his empire.
The companies did not initially disclose the loans to regulators as affiliated transactions, according to the report.
Investigators are examining several intermediaries that received loans from Walter’s insurers. Those intermediaries then lent money to other parts of his business operation.
A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Amistad is one of the intermediaries under investigation.
Bloomberg also reviewed insurance filings showing that Walter’s Delaware Life Insurance Co. and Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co. had lent at least $2 billion to companies under Amistad’s corporate umbrella by the end of 2025.
Insurers now owned by Amistad, including EquiTrust before its acquisition, also lent at least $4 billion to three other intermediaries linked to the investigation.
Authorities have not accused Walter, his TWG Global holding company, Amistad or the insurers of wrongdoing.
Amistad’s links to Johnson
The scrutiny has also raised questions about Amistad’s connections to Johnson and his former business associates.
Eric Holoman, who previously served as president of Magic Johnson Enterprises, became CEO of Atlanta Life after Atlanta Life Holdings acquired the insurer in 2023.
Regulatory filings show that Amistad owns Atlanta Life Holdings.
Holoman also remains CEO of EquiTrust, a position he held before and after the Amistad acquisition.
Johnson disclosed earlier this year that he owned a controlling interest in EquiTrust in a filing for JLC Infrastructure, the investment firm he co-founded.
Magic Johnson Enterprises also continues to describe Johnson as an owner of EquiTrust on its website.
Walter defends the transactions
Walter’s investment group, TWG, has defended the insurance transactions. The group said affiliated deals are common in the industry when companies follow regulatory requirements.
“Affiliated transactions are commonplace in the insurance industry, widely permitted subject to the applicable regulatory requirements, and a part of the insurance industry’s normal course of business,” Walter’s investment group, TWG, said in a statement last month. “There is no victim here. No one has been harmed, and no one has claimed they were harmed.”
Representatives for Johnson, Amistad and EquiTrust did not respond to requests for comment.
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