ESPN on the mortgage billionaire rivalry Rocket & UWM brought to the NBA

 

Baxter Holmes at ESPN did a huge piece on the long history between mortgage giants Rocket Mortgage and United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM). Why? Because UWM CEO Mat Ishbia and Rocket founder Dan Gilbert own the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively.

Holmes details how the decades-long rivalry has played out over time, including how it came to the NBA.

For those who don’t follow this stuff closely, it’s a very interesting chronicle of how successful execs rise up and rivalries carry into new endeavors.

And for those who do follow this stuff super close like we do, it’s still worth reading.

To me, this rivalry has always clearly marked two styles of competitor.

Mat is the scrappy, in-your-face competitor.

Dan is the quieter but no less ferocious competitor.

These two and their firms are both Detroit-based, and they live minutes from each other.

Gilbert’s spokesperson said they’ve never met.

But they’re deeply in the same mortgage — and especially clubby NBA — circles.

Which is what makes this story compelling.

For those keeping score, here are the 2023 full year funded loan volume stats for each firm from Inside Mortgage Finance:

United Wholesale Mortgage: $107.9 billion (ranked first overall)

Rocket Mortgage: $79.85 billion (ranked 3rd overall)