Who is Mat Ishbia? Exploring Phoenix Suns owner's family and next generation
Mat Ishbia is the newest owner of the Phoenix Suns. He has been married to Emily Ishbia since 2014. The lovely couple has three children, two sons and a daughter.
Their sons are named Joey and Ishbia, while their daughter is named Jamie. The family lives in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. They also have three pet dogs named Zeke, Kobe, and Judy.
Mat is the current president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the United States. He has an estimated net worth of between $5.59 billion and $11 billion. He bought the Suns alongside his brother Justin Ishbia from the disgraced Robert Sarver.
Yesterday was Kids Day at @UWMlending, and we had 650+ kids join us for a fun day of activities. Enjoyed having my 3 kids shadow me for a few hours too. There was so much positivity, energy, and joy on our campus, and it was awesome seeing everyone have a great time together. https://t.co/INEHQWgaFv
Mat Ishbia succeeded his father Jeff as the president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage in 2013. He became a billionaire in 2021 when he took the company public. He made a bid to purchase the Phoenix Suns for $4 billion in December.
Robert Sarver accepted the offer and the deal was made official by the NBA on Monday, with Mat holding a press conference in front of team workers and employees.
The former Michigan State basketball player promised that there would be changes in the workplace. Sarver had no choice but to sell the Suns after he was found guilty of creating a toxic workplace environment.
"It's all about people," the new majority owner said. "People is everything. That's the most important thing. Without great people, without people that care, you've got nothing. So we're going to start with culture and team."
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Mat Ishbia shocks the NBA, acquires Kevin Durant
One of Mat Ishbia's promises to the entire Phoenix Suns workforce and fans was that they would try to win immediately. Ishbia told reporters at Tuesday's press conference that they were going to improve the team and possibly win the Suns' first championship.
"I'm not going to be sitting here counting the dollars," Ishbia said. "We're going to focus on, how do we improve our team? If there's a way to improve our team, we're going to look at doing it. We're not going to sacrifice long term or short term, but we are going to try to win every game."
Less than 48 hours after making the promise, Mat Ishbia has already made the Suns one of the favorites to win the NBA championship this season. Phoenix just shocked the league by acquiring Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Suns traded Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Cam Johnson, four first-round picks and a first-round pick swap for Durant and T.J. Warren.
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