Mat Ishbia | $1B+
Get in touch with Mat Ishbia | Mat Ishbia, CEO and chairman of United Wholesale Mortgage, built the company into the largest wholesale mortgage lender in the United States by modernizing broker-centric lending through technology, scale, and relentless execution. Taking over the family business in 2013, Ishbia transformed UWM into a national powerhouse, leading it public via a SPAC merger and reshaping the competitive dynamics of mortgage origination. Beyond finance, he is a major sports owner, acquiring controlling stakes in the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury and investing heavily in team infrastructure and fan experience. Known for his intensity, competitive mindset, and emphasis on culture, Ishbia stands out as one of the most dynamic entrepreneurs in American finance and sports.
Mat Ishbia is an American billionaire businessman and sports team owner, best known as the chairman, president, and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM Holdings), the largest wholesale mortgage lender in the United States, which he has led since 2013.[1][2]
Born in January 1980 in suburban Detroit, Michigan, Ishbia grew up in a family deeply involved in the mortgage industry, as his father, Jeff Ishbia, founded UWM in 1986 as a small brokerage firm.[2] After earning a Bachelor of Business Administration from Michigan State University's Eli Broad College of Business, where he played as a walk-on guard on the Spartans' basketball team and contributed to their 2000 NCAA national championship under coach Tom Izzo, Ishbia briefly considered a coaching career before joining the family business in 2003.[1][2] Under his leadership, UWM expanded rapidly, surpassing competitors to become the top U.S. wholesale mortgage originator by 2015, and the company went public in 2021 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, valuing it at $16.1 billion.[2][1]
In 2023, Ishbia, alongside his brother Justin—a fellow billionaire and private equity investor—purchased a majority stake in the Phoenix Suns NBA franchise and the Phoenix Mercury WNBA team for approximately $4 billion, marking his entry into professional sports ownership; by late 2024, his ownership in the Suns had increased to 66%. In 2025, Ishbia faced lawsuits from Suns minority owners regarding buyout disputes.[2][3][4] In June 2025, his brother Justin entered an agreement to invest in and potentially acquire controlling interest in the Chicago White Sox MLB team in the future, with the Ishbia family holding a 35% stake and Mat credited with 26.25%.[2] As of November 2025, Ishbia's net worth is estimated at $8.9 billion, primarily derived from his approximately 69% ownership in UWM, positioning him as one of the wealthiest individuals in Michigan, where he resides in Bloomfield Hills with his three children following his divorce.[1][2][5] He has also authored a management book, Running the Corporate Offense, drawing parallels between business strategy and basketball tactics.[2]
Early life and education
Childhood and family
Mat Ishbia was born on January 6, 1980, in Birmingham, Michigan, to parents Jeff and Joanne Ishbia.[6] He grew up in a middle-class Jewish family in suburban Detroit, where his father, an attorney and entrepreneur, founded United Wholesale Mortgage in 1986, exposing the young Ishbia to the world of business from an early age.[7][8][1] His mother, Joanne, worked as a schoolteacher in the nearby Pontiac district, contributing to a household that emphasized education and family stability.[7][3]
Ishbia is the younger of two sons, with his brother Justin, two years his senior, also becoming involved in the family business later in life.[7] The family dynamic revolved around values of hard work and humility, instilled by Jeff Ishbia, who often worked late nights and shared lessons on perseverance and helping others during family interactions.[3][7] This environment fostered an early entrepreneurial mindset, as Ishbia observed his father's dedication to building the mortgage company amid everyday family life.[3]
During his childhood, Ishbia attended local schools in the Birmingham area, including Birmingham Seaholm High School, in a community-oriented setting that highlighted achievement through effort.[7] His initial passion for basketball developed through family influences, particularly his father's role in coaching his Little League and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) teams, which encouraged competitive spirit and teamwork from a young age.[9] This foundation in sports and business principles shaped his upbringing, paving the way for his transition to college basketball at Michigan State University.[7]
College years and basketball
Ishbia enrolled at Michigan State University in 1998, where he pursued a degree in business administration at the Eli Broad College of Business, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in management in 2003.[10][11]
During his time at MSU, Ishbia walked on to the men's basketball team under head coach Tom Izzo, serving as a point guard from 1999 to 2002 and contributing to the 2000 NCAA national championship squad.[12][13] His role was primarily behind the scenes, emphasizing practice contributions, conditioning, and team support rather than on-court prominence; he appeared in 48 games across three seasons, with 1 start, averaging minimal minutes and scoring 28 points total in his career.[14][15] Izzo praised Ishbia's relentless work ethic, noting how he "competed like no other" despite limited opportunities, often taking charges in drills and fostering team morale.[16]
Academically, Ishbia balanced his athletic commitments with strong performance, earning three-time Academic All-Big Ten honors from 2000 to 2002 and the President's Award for the highest GPA among MSU athletes.[10][17] While no records indicate formal involvement in specific business clubs, his coursework in management honed foundational skills in leadership and operations, allowing him to maintain a rigorous schedule that integrated studies with daily team practices and games.[18]
Ishbia's basketball experience profoundly shaped his personal development, instilling discipline through early-morning workouts, teamwork via collaborative team dynamics, and resilience from overcoming the challenges of being a walk-on on a championship-caliber roster.[19][20] These lessons directly influenced his business approach, where he later applied basketball-inspired principles like high accountability and collective effort to build a competitive corporate culture.[21] Following graduation, he transitioned to full-time employment at his family's mortgage firm, United Wholesale Mortgage, as its 12th employee.[11][22]
Business career
Leadership at United Wholesale Mortgage
Mat Ishbia joined United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) full-time in 2003 as an account executive shortly after graduating from Michigan State University; the company had been founded by his father, Jeff Ishbia, in 1986 as a side business.[1][23] Over the next decade, Ishbia progressed through roles in sales and operations, becoming president in 2009 when UWM ranked as the 75th-largest wholesale lender in the U.S., and then CEO in 2013.[24][25]
Under Ishbia's leadership, UWM transformed from a regional lender into the nation's top wholesale mortgage lender by origination volume in 2015, achieving monthly issuances exceeding $1 billion and annual profits over $100 million by that year.[25][26] The company adapted to the post-2008 financial crisis landscape by emphasizing the wholesale lending model, which relies on partnerships with independent mortgage brokers to originate loans, capitalizing on banks' reduced involvement in the sector.[27] Ishbia drove growth through technological innovations, including AI-powered tools for underwriting automation and document processing launched in 2025, as well as partnerships like those with Google Cloud for efficiency gains and Bilt Rewards to enhance consumer mortgage programs.[28][29] He fostered a "Whatever It Takes" culture focused on employee teamwork and incentives, such as performance-based promotions and retention programs that boosted internal advancements by 42% in 2020 alone.[7][30]
Key milestones include UWM's 2021 public listing via a SPAC merger with Gores Holdings IV, valuing the company at $16.1 billion and marking the largest such deal at the time.[31][32] The firm sustained its leadership in wholesale lending, originating $41.7 billion in loans during Q3 2025—its highest quarterly volume since 2021—while expanding its workforce to over 9,100 employees by late 2024.[33][34] Ishbia's philosophy centers on bolstering broker partnerships to ensure ethical, broker-led lending, positioning UWM as an advocate for independent originators in the industry.[35] This approach contributed to his personal net worth reaching approximately $8.9 billion as of November 2025, primarily from his stake in UWM.[1]
Ownership of Phoenix Suns and Mercury
In February 2023, Mat Ishbia completed the acquisition of a controlling 57% stake in the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for a total franchise valuation of $4 billion, purchasing the shares from previous majority owner Robert Sarver. The transaction, initially agreed upon in December 2022, was approved by the NBA Board of Governors on February 6, 2023, and involved an investment group that included Ishbia's brother Justin Ishbia as a minority owner alongside other partners. This deal marked the highest price ever paid for an NBA franchise at the time and was financed in part by Ishbia's wealth accumulated through his leadership at United Wholesale Mortgage. By late 2024, Ishbia's ownership stake in the Suns had increased to approximately 66% through additional acquisitions.[2]
Ishbia's motivation for the purchase stemmed from his lifelong passion for basketball, developed during his playing days at Michigan State University, where he aimed to channel that enthusiasm into elevating both teams. He expressed a particular commitment to advancing women's sports by investing in the Mercury, which he viewed as undervalued, while also pledging to strengthen community ties in Phoenix through enhanced team performance and engagement.
Under Ishbia's ownership, he adopted a hands-on management style, directly influencing key personnel decisions such as the firing of Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer on April 14, 2025, after the team missed the playoffs in the 2024-25 season, and the subsequent hiring of Jordan Ott as the new coach in June 2025.[36] This approach extended to a broader reset of team culture, emphasizing accountability, fan experience improvements like enhanced game-day amenities, and facility upgrades, including a $100 million investment announced in October 2023 for a new 123,000-square-foot practice facility and headquarters for the Mercury to address previous infrastructure shortcomings.
From 2023 to 2025, the Suns experienced significant roster developments under Ishbia, including the acquisition of star guard Bradley Beal via trade in June 2023 to pair with Kevin Durant, who had joined earlier that year, though the team struggled in playoffs—advancing to the Western Conference semifinals in 2024 before missing the postseason entirely in 2025, prompting a franchise reset that included trading Durant to the Houston Rockets in the offseason.[37] For the Mercury, Ishbia's investments contributed to a run to the 2025 WNBA Finals, where they lost 0-4 to the Las Vegas Aces, underscoring his push for competitive success and gender equity in sports through increased resources for women's professional basketball. In October 2025, Ishbia filed a countersuit against minority owners Andy Kohlberg and Scott Seldin, accusing them of demanding an inflated buyout premium amid disputes over franchise transparency and investments.[4]
Ishbia's broader vision for Phoenix sports includes ongoing community engagement initiatives and infrastructure enhancements, such as the October 2025 announcement of a nearly $115 million, 10-year naming rights deal with his company United Wholesale Mortgage to rebrand the teams' arena as the Mortgage Matchup Center, alongside long-term plans for potential full renovations or a new downtown facility to revitalize the area.[38]
Other sports investments
In June 2025, the Ishbia brothers, led by Justin, agreed to a long-term investment in the Chicago White Sox MLB team, with Mat holding a 26.25% interest and capital infusions beginning that year, positioning for potential control by 2029.[39]
Philanthropy
Contributions to Michigan State University
Mat Ishbia, a former walk-on player on Michigan State's 2000 national championship basketball team, made his largest contribution to the university's athletics department in February 2021 with a $32 million pledge, marking the biggest single cash commitment from an individual in MSU history at the time.[40] Of this amount, $20 million funded major expansions to football facilities, including upgrades to the Skandalaris Football Center with new weight rooms, locker rooms, recovery areas, and nutrition spaces, resulting in the dedication of the Tom Izzo Football Building in honor of the basketball coach who mentored Ishbia during his playing days.[41] An additional $2 million supported the MSU Men's Basketball Excellence Fund for program enhancements at Coach Tom Izzo's discretion, while $2 million went to the Spartan For Life Fund to aid student-athletes' leadership and career development, with the remainder allocated to non-revenue sports initiatives.[41] These investments improved recruiting, facility quality, and overall athletic infrastructure, directly benefiting the basketball and football programs Ishbia competed in.[42]
Ishbia's donations were driven by his deep personal ties to MSU coaches, particularly his mentor-mentee relationship with Tom Izzo, who coached him from 1998 to 2002 and instilled values that shaped his career.[43] He also developed a close connection with football coach Mel Tucker prior to the latter's 2024 dismissal, contributing an additional $14 million in late 2021 to support Tucker's contract extension and football program growth, further enhancing facilities and team resources.[44] This motivation stemmed from Ishbia's own experiences as a scholarship-earning walk-on, where he credited MSU's environment for his success.[45]
In September 2024, Ishbia's brother Justin and his wife Kristen, both MSU alumni, extended the family's support with a $10 million gift to athletics, including $7 million for the Men's Basketball Excellence Fund and $1.5 million for baseball facility upgrades and program development, building on prior name, image, and likeness commitments.[46] Ishbia continues his involvement through regular attendance at Spartans games and informal advisory input on athletic development, reinforcing his commitment to the programs that defined his college years.[42]
Support for cancer research and other causes
In March 2021, Mat Ishbia donated $1 million to the V Foundation for Cancer Research, specifically supporting the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund.[47] This contribution was inspired by ESPN analyst Dick Vitale's personal battle with cancer and his longstanding advocacy for pediatric research, with whom Ishbia shares connections through his time as a Michigan State University basketball alumnus.[47] Ishbia expressed his motivation as a desire to help children, stating, "I’ve been successful, I love kids, I love helping people that want to help kids."[47] In January 2022, Ishbia and his brother Justin committed an additional $2 million to the same fund during Vitale's annual gala, further advancing efforts to fund innovative pediatric cancer treatments.[48]
Under Ishbia's leadership as CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the company launched the Pay It Forward program, enabling employees to earn merit points for performance that can be redeemed for charitable donations to causes of their choice.[49] This initiative fosters employee-driven philanthropy, with examples including over $14,000 raised in early 2025 for an after-school program supporting underserved youth.[50] The program has encouraged widespread volunteerism among UWM's workforce, contributing to community programs beyond direct financial gifts.[25]
Ishbia has also supported health initiatives through a significant donation to Beaumont Hospital (now part of Corewell Health) for the renovation of its Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, enhancing critical care services in the Michigan community.[25] In other community efforts, UWM under Ishbia matched employee donations up to $40,000 for GivingTuesday in December 2024, directing funds to Grace Centers of Hope, a nonprofit providing shelter and support for the homeless in Pontiac, Michigan.[51] Additionally, Ishbia serves on the board of governors for the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation, promoting youth sports and community engagement in Jewish organizations across the state.[52] These philanthropic activities are enabled by Ishbia's success in building UWM into a leading mortgage lender.[25]
Personal life
Family and relationships
Mat Ishbia was married to Emily Ishbia (née Clarke) from 2014 until their divorce, which was finalized in 2023.[53][54] The couple met while attending Michigan State University and maintained a low public profile regarding their relationship.[55]
Ishbia and his former wife share three children: sons Joey and Ben, and daughter Jamie, who were born in the early 2010s.[56][55] The family has been involved in sports activities together, with Ishbia coaching his children's teams.[57]
Post-divorce, Ishbia has described himself as a dedicated single father, prioritizing time with his children in the evenings and weekends.[58] He and Emily have kept details of their co-parenting arrangement private, consistent with their overall approach to personal matters.[55][59]
Ishbia's younger brother, Justin Ishbia, is a private equity investor and founding partner of Shore Capital Partners; the siblings co-invested in the 2023 acquisition of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury, with Justin holding a minority stake.[60][61] The family has emphasized privacy in public discussions, viewing their close-knit dynamics as a key support for Ishbia's professional endeavors.[55][59]
Interests and residences
Mat Ishbia has maintained a deep passion for basketball throughout his life, influencing his approach to leadership and team dynamics.[9] As a frequent attendee at Michigan State games, Ishbia's alumni connection keeps him involved in the university's basketball community.[16]
Ishbia's primary residence is in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, where he is constructing what will be the state's largest occupied home, a 60,000-square-foot mansion on a 14-acre plot that includes features like an amusement park for family use.[62] As of June 2025, the site has been cleared by razing five existing properties, including his previous 22,000-square-foot home, but construction remains ongoing.[63][64] This project reflects a luxury lifestyle aligned with his estimated net worth of approximately $9.5 billion as of September 2025.[1] Following his 2023 acquisition of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, Ishbia has established a presence in Arizona to oversee operations, though his main base remains in Michigan.[65]
Beyond basketball, Ishbia engages with Michigan's Jewish community, having been inducted into the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2016 for his athletic achievements and raised in a Jewish family in Birmingham, Michigan, where he played for a local Maccabi youth team.[66][17] He has authored the book Running the Corporate Offense: Lessons in Effective Leadership from the Bench to the Board Room, drawing parallels between sports and business strategies, which underscores his interest in leadership development.[2] Frequent travel supports both his professional commitments and family life, maintaining connections across his business and personal networks.
Despite his wealth and high-profile roles, Ishbia cultivates a low-key public persona, emphasizing work-life balance in his leadership philosophy at United Wholesale Mortgage, where he promotes policies like "no-meeting Thursdays" to allow employees time for personal pursuits.[67] He prioritizes mentorship through shared experiences, viewing his 9,000 employees as collective guides while fostering a culture of appreciation and execution.[68] In 2025, Ishbia has increased his hands-on involvement with the Suns in Phoenix, balancing oversight there with his Michigan roots to support team rebuilding efforts.[69][70]
Disclaimer: This profile is based on publicly available information. No endorsement or affiliation is implied.
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