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Mat Ishbia

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Mat Ishbia
Born
Mathew Randall Ishbia

(1980-01-06) January 6, 1980 (age 44)
Known forCEO and chairman of United Wholesale Mortgage
Majority owner of the Phoenix Suns of the NBA and Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA
Spouse
Emily Clarke
​
(m. 2014)​
FamilyJustin Ishbia (brother)

Mathew Randall Ishbia (born January 6, 1980)[1] is an American billionaire who is CEO and chairman of mortgage lender United Wholesale Mortgage. He was finalized as majority owner of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association and Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association alongside his older brother Justin on February 6, 2023.[2]

Biography

Ishbia was raised in a Jewish family in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.[3] He played basketball as a walk-on point guard for Michigan State from 1999 to 2002 and was a member of the team that won the national championship in 2000.[4] In 2013, he succeeded his father as the CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage (founded by his father in 1986).[3] In January 2021, he took the company public which made him a billionaire.[3] He also controversially announced in 2021 that UWM would no longer work with any broker or bank that also worked with Rocket Mortgage or the Fairway Independent Mortgage Group, both of whom are UWM's rivals in the mortgage industry.[5][6] This led to him having a rivalry with Dan Gilbert and Rocket Mortgage, with Gilbert being the only NBA owner to abstain from voting for Ishbia's approval from owning the Phoenix Suns in February 2023.[7]

Forbes lists his net worth as of April 2022 at $4.9 billion USD.[1]

In December 2022, his bid was accepted by suspended team owner Robert Sarver to purchase the NBA's Phoenix Suns and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury basketball teams for $4 billion, pending league approval.[8] At 43, he became the NBA's youngest team owner in the league's history,[9] with the NBA nearly-unanimously approving of the sale on February 6, 2023,[10] before it became official on February 7, 2023.[11][12] During his first few days of ownership (before the end of the 2023 NBA trade deadline), the Suns were able to trade for superstar forward Kevin Durant and reacquire T.J. Warren from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder, four unprotected first round picks, and a 2028 first round pick swap.

Philanthropy

On February 4, 2021, Ishbia donated $32 million to Michigan State University, the largest one-time commitment from a single person.[13] A month later, on March 12, Ishbia donated $1 million to the V Foundation for Cancer Research.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Mat Ishbia". Forbes - The World's Billionaires. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Sources: Mat Ishbia's purchase of Suns, Mercury to be official soon". espn.com. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Keene, Louis (20 December 2022). "Phoenix Suns' new owner played for his hometown Maccabi team". Jewish Daily Forward. Ishbia, 42, who will also acquire the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury in the deal, grew up in a Jewish family in Birmingham, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.
  4. ^ Deb, Sopan; Ganguli, Tania (20 December 2022). "Mat Ishbia Nears $4 Billion Deal for Phoenix Suns and Mercury". The New York Times.
  5. ^ "UWM says it won't do business with brokers working with Rocket, Fairway". Detroit Free Press. 5 March 2021.
  6. ^ "United Wholesale Mortgage says its crosstown war with Quicken Loans is paying off". CNBC. 24 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Rivalry between Suns' Ishbia, Cavs' Gilbert reportedly carries over to NBA". arizonasports.com. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Ishbia agrees to Suns purchase for record $4B". ESPN.com. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Mat Ishbia confirms he's finalizing Phoenix Suns, Mercury purchase; price reportedly $4 billion". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  10. ^ https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35605269/nba-board-governors-approves-sale-suns-mercury-mat-ishbia
  11. ^ https://arizonasports.com/story/3487485/mat-ishbias-purchase-of-phoenix-suns-set-to-be-complete-by-tuesday/
  12. ^ MAT ISHBIA ASSUMES CONTROLLING OWNERSHIP INTEREST OF PHOENIX SUNS AND PHOENIX MERCURY
  13. ^ Mat Ishbia, former basketball player, makes $32M donation to Michigan State athletics
  14. ^ Ex-Michigan State hoops player donates $1 million to V Foundation
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