Olivia Walton, Robin Roberts among new investors in NY Liberty franchise
by October 27, 2025 7:31 am 1,452 views
Olivia Walton, CEO of Ingeborg Investments and chair of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, is a new investor in the New York Liberty women’s pro basketball franchise.
Multiple news outlets have shared that Walton has joined the ownership group of the team. New owners also include Robin Roberts, host of Good Morning America, and Amy Griffin of G9 Ventures.
From NetsDaily website, which tracks sports news:
The three women will join other equity investors anchored by Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba with Joe Tsai as well as six other women with both professional sports and investment backgrounds: Karen Finerman, Thasunda Brown Duckett, Karlie Kloss, Gabrielle Rubenstein, and Samantha Lasry. Those investments were announced back in May.
All nine investors will share in the same stake, described by Bloomberg as being in the “mid-teens.” In return, the group put up an undisclosed cash infusion. Ma, one of China’s richest entrepreneurs with a net worth of close to $50 billion, appears to be the lead investor in the group.
The cash will be used, according to the team, in the construction of the team’s $80 million, 75,000-square-foot training complex in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, scheduled to open in 2027. It’s this investment that vaulted the Liberty to a valuation of $450 million, the most ever for a professional women’s sports franchise.
Walton, who is married to Tom Walton, grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton, posted on her LinkedIn profile Monday (Oct. 27):
“So proud to join the ownership group of the NY LIBERTY alongside Clara Wu Tsai and other incredible investors. Women’s sports aren’t just having a moment — they’re building a movement. The Liberty are leading that charge, proving what happens when excellence meets purpose and community under the leadership of Keia Clarke,” said Walton.
“Thrilled to invest in what’s next for women’s sports — and to cheer on the players and the Timeless Torches forever,” she added.
Walton, who was raised in New York, has been active on a number of fronts in Arkansas, including a push for improving maternal health, promoting the arts, and investing in women-owned businesses.
The Liberty is not the only professional sports team owned by Walton family members. Rob Walton, the son of Walmart founders Helen and Sam Walton, led in 2022 the purchase of the Denver Broncos. Rob Walton partnered with son-in-law Greg Penner and daughter Carrie Walton Penner on the purchase that included former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice as an investor. Greg Penner is the CEO of the Broncos organization.