Former College Basketball Walk-On Is Worth $11.3 Billion, More Than LeBron And Jordan Combined

Former Michigan State basketball walk-on, Mat Ishbia, is now worth more than Lebron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Dwanye Wade, and Michael Jorden combined. Ishbia, who was a member of the 2000 NCAA championship time, is now CEO of United Shore, also known as United Wholesale Mortgage. The company is preparing to go public on the Nasdaq stock exchange in a deal involving another basketball connection, the older brother of Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores.

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The deal values United Shore at $16 billion and would leave its owners, mainly Ishbia and his father, Jeffrey, who founded the company, with a 94 percent stake. Mat Ishbia’s stake would amount to roughly 70 percent of the newly public company, which would translate to $11.3 billion, assuming a $10 share price, according to Bloomberg.

United Shore is the second largest mortgage lender behind Quicken Loans. It has a roughly 20 percent share of the overall mortgage market and a 33 percent share in the wholesale mortgage market. United’s wholesale lending business underwrites loans made by independent mortgage brokers. This contrasts with companies like Quicken Loans who also provide direct-to-consumer loans.

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Mat Ishbia, 40, took over as CEO of the business in 2013 and quickly accelerated growth of the company. United’s rise was aided after large financial institutions like Bank of America and Wells Fargo decided to exit the wholesale lending business following the 2009 recession and housing crash.

Alec Gores, who runs Gores Holdings IV Inc., the special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that is acquiring a six percent stake in United, told Bloomberg that Ishbia is one of the best CEOs he has encountered. “I’ve never seen a company better run than Mat’s,” Gores said.

Ishbia played in Michigan State’s 89-76 victory over the University of Florida in the 2000 national championship game. While he was scoreless in that game, when United goes public, he’ll have earned a much bigger score.

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