Ishbia is the chief executive of United Wholesale Mortgage, a wholesale lender in the US mortgage market. The Pontiac, Michigan-based firm underwrites loans and provides closing documentation services, and became publicly traded in 2020. He's also the lead owner of NBA team the Phoenix Suns.
The majority of Mat Ishbia's fortune comes from United Wholesale Mortgage, a wholesale lender in the U.S. mortgage market. He's the president and chief executive officer of the firm, which was founded by his father Jeff Ishbia in 1986.
SFS Holding Corp., a company controlled by Ishbia and his father, owned about 94% of UWM according to the company's 2023 proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. About 54% of the shares owned by SFS are pledged to secure loan facilities according to the proxy, and these shares are excluded from the calculation. Ishbia is credited with 75% of the remaining shares. His brother Justin owns 23% of the shares held by SFS, according to the filing.
In February 2023, Ishbia headed a group that bought a 57% stake in the Phoenix Suns NBA team. The transaction, which included the acquisition of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, was valued at about $4 billion, according to a report. Ishbia is credited with 75% of the group's stake based on his position as lead owner. The team is valued at its acquisition cost after accounting for debt of $500 million, a figure that was provided by a person familiar with the team's finances who didn't wish to be named because the information is private.
Ishbia has collected more than $3 billion from UWM since 2020, in the form of distributions to SFS Corp including tax distribution payments. Taxes, market growth and outflows for asset purchases are applied to cash balances.
A spokesperson for Ishbia declined to comment on his net worth.
Mat Ishbia was born in suburban Detroit, Michigan in January 1980. His father, Jeff, founded a mortgage business that became United Wholesale Mortgage, and his mother was a teacher.
Ishbia attended college at Michigan State University. He tried out for the college's Spartan's basketball team, and won a position as a walk-on point guard. He won a national championship with the team in 2000. Ishbia played just 40 minutes that season, but credits famed coach Tom Izzo with having a deep influence on his development and career.
In 2003, after graduating college, Ishbia joined his father's mortgage business, as the 12th employee. He became president of the company in 2013. By the time the company merged with a special purpose acquisition company in September 2020 at a valuation of $16.1 billion, it employed more than 6,700 people and was the largest wholesale mortgage originator in the US.
In February 2023, Ishbia led a group that bought a majority stake in the Phoenix Suns and Mercury basketball teams in a transaction that valued the teams at $4 billion.