Basketball player turned CEO of a Mortgage lending firm, United Wholesale Mortgage, Mat Ishbia, is on his way to acquiring a sports franchise. It’s now plausible to say that the American billionaire is on his way to making history with his next purchase. Before we get down on discussing which team he will be purchasing, let’s take a look at his background and who he is in the business world.
Mat is a graduate of Michigan State University, he earned his degree in Business Administration. While pursuing his course, he was also a walk-on Basketball player at Michigan State. During his time with Michigan, he made 48 appearances for the team and won the 2000 championship with them. Mat is the only single individual to have pledged $32 million towards the athletics department of Michigan State.
New Suns owner Mat Ishbia was a walk-on at Michigan State then played in three-straight Final Fours and won a national championship in 2000. pic.twitter.com/pwFiJbdXu1
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) December 20, 2022
After college, Mat joined his father Jeff Ishbia in United Wholesale Mortgage, a company his father founded in 1986. United Wholesale Mortgage, is a Michigan-based mortgage lender. He is now the CEO of the company and has a 71% stake in the company. Earlier this year, Mat and his brother Justin attempted to purchase the Denver Broncos NFL team. They were, however, out of the running as the Walton family outbid them.
Mat has a net worth of $4.7 billion. With his net worth, Forbes has ranked him #572 in the world’s real-time billionaires. Ishbia is richer than LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Shaquille O’Neal combined, the NBA stars net worth combined is around $1.76 billion. His younger brother Justin Ishbia is also a billionaire and has a 22% stake in UWM Holdings. Both brothers will be involved in the purchase of the Phoenix-based franchises.
Is Mat Ishbia buying Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury?
According to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, it has been confirmed that Ishbia will buy the majority shares of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury. The current owner Robert Sarver made the announcement of the sale on Tuesday. Sarver on the sale said, “Mat is the right leader to build on franchise legacies of winning and community support and shepherd the Suns and Mercury into the next era.”
Ishbia will be purchasing the Phoenix Suns and WNBA team the Phoenix Mercury for a record price of $4 billion. This sale brings the end of Sarver as the owner of the Suns. Sarver purchased the Suns in 2004 for a then-record $401 million.
Official: Mat and Justin Ishbia reach agreement to buy majority stake of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury from Robert Sarver: pic.twitter.com/dEe6QGfZJP
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 21, 2022
The sale will be overseen by the investment bank Moelis & Company, which is also responsible for the sale of other sports franchises. Mat’s brother Justin will also be investing a significant amount and will serve as alternate governor.