Legendary singing cowboy and entertainment icon Gene Autry initially purchased the expansion franchise in 1961 for a modest fee of $2.5 million to bring Major League Baseball to Southern California. Over the decades, as franchise valuations scaled alongside national television rights and stadium developments, Autry sold controlling interests in the team to The Walt Disney Company in stages during the 1990s for tens of millions of dollars, establishing a massive return on his original investment before his passing and the subsequent sale to current ownership.