HispanicBusiness

Thanks to a handful of billionaires that includes a couple of prominent dignitaries with ties to media giant Univision, as well as the Hispanic owners of a major produce distributor, the city of Los Angeles will celebrate the Lakers' victory today without spending any taxpayer money.

Earlier this week Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa touched off a brief controversy by declaring he'd like to see the city revel in the big win with a parade.

But union leaders and other City Council members criticized the idea of spending tax dollars to subsidize the feat of a bunch of super-rich pro athletes at a time when the city is laying off hundreds of not-so-rich employees.

The controversy was put to rest Monday when the mayor announced that a group of local billionaires would bankroll the $900,000 portion of the party that would have been borne by the taxpayers, according to the LA Times.

The remaining $1 million will be covered by the team and the Staples Center.

The generous donors were rounded up in an afternoon by Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive officer of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns Staples Center.

They include Jerry Perenchio, the former chairman of Univision Communications, and Haim Saban, a billionaire who is part of an investor group that owns Univision, the L.A. Times reports

The donors also include Joe and Sharon Hernandez of Melissa's World Variety Produce, a major provider of specialty produce.

The party wouldn't be in L.A. if it didn't include a dynasty family of the entertainment industry, Casey and Laura Wasserman. Casey is the grandson of former Universal Pictures Chairman Lew Wasserman.

The others are Eli Broad, philanthropist and founder of KB Home and the SunAmerica insurance firm; Ed Roski, the owner of Majestic Realty who hopes to build a football stadium in the city of Industry to attract an NFL team; and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. The San Bernardino County tribe owns a casino in Highland.

Now that the tab is taken care of, the major concern is crime. To address this, city officials summoned Lakers guard Derek Fisher, who appeared at a press conference with the mayor to make an appeal for good behavior, the AP reported.