Billionaire Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss dies at the age of 80

Jerry Buss, the Los Angeles Lakers' owner and real estate magnate, died at the age of 80 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Monday (February 18, 2013). Buss, whose condition worsened in recent months, had been hospitalized for most of the past 18 months while undergoing cancer treatment. However, the immediate cause of death was kidney failure. With a scientist's analytical skills, a businessman's money-making savvy and a die-hard hoops fan's heart, Jerry Buss shepherded the Lakers to 10 championships from the Showtime dynasty of the 1980s to the Kobe Bryant era. Buss purchased the NBA team and other assets in 1979 for $67.5 million in 1979 and the club is now run largely by Jim Buss and Jeanie Buss, two of his six children. Follow me Tumblr or Google+ if you are a fan of the Lakers.