Mat Ishbia ethnicity: Shedding light on Phoenix Suns' owner's personal life and upbringing

Mat Ishbia recently purchased the Phoenix Suns. He has made headlines a few times since purchasing the team.

Ishbia just made news with his involvement in a small skirmish with Nikola Jokic in Game 4. Jokic received a technical foul for elbowing Ishbia as he attempted to pull the basketball from latter's hands. The ball landed with Ishbia after a loose ball pursuit ended up in the courtside seats where Ishbia was sitting.

Matt Ishbia said no suspension should be given to Jokic. Following the game, the Suns owner said it would not be fair to punish Jokic and he had no issue with the incident.

The 43-year-old also made some news by saying Phoenix Suns games would be available for free over the air on TV. Most NBA teams have a local broadcast deal worth millions to air their games on a local cable channel. Suns games will instead be broadcast for free on over-the-air networks.

Let’s take a look at Ishbia’s background. Ishbia is of a Jewish background. He grew up in Michigan. He was raised in Birmingham, Michigan which is a suburb of Detroit.

Mat Ishbia played basketball as a walk-on in college for Tom Izzo at Michigan State. He was a part of the team that won the 2000 national championship. He was a gritty competitor who knew how to take a charge back in his day.

His brother Justin works with him in his business. Justin is also listed as a co-owner of the Suns, and works in private equity, while also being a minority owner of the Major League Soccer team Nashville SC.

---

Where is Ishbia’s money from?

Mat Ishbia inherited his father’s mortgage company, United Wholesale Mortgage, in 2013. He took the company public which made Ishbia a billionaire.

His running of the mortgage company has since generated him billions. According to Forbes, his estimated worth is $7.1 billion.

Mat Ishbia, alongside his minority owners, bought the Suns for $4 billion. He was approved to purchase the team by the owners in December 2022.

Ishbia made big splashes as soon as he took ownership for the team. He traded Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and draft picks to acquire Kevin Durant.