According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Mat Ishbia is finalizing a purchase of the franchise, which has been up for sale for a few months. The deal is expected to be completed in the “near future” and would end Robert Sarver’s tenure as owner.

Wojnarowski adds that Ishbia’s purchase is in “the neighborhood of $4 billion.” Forbes recently valued the Suns at $1.8 billion.

Who is Ishbia? Here is what we know about Phoenix’s new potential owner.

Who is Mat Ishbia?

Background

Ishbia was born in Birmingham, Michigan. He is the chairman and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, a mortgage lender based in Michigan that was founded by his father, Jeff Ishbia, in 1986.

According to Forbes, Ishbia owns a 71 percent stake in the company. His brother, Justin, is also a billionaire and will reportedly be a “significant investor and alternate governor” for the Suns.

College

Ishbia graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Business Administration.

Ishbia played basketball while at Michigan State and was part of the men’s team that won the 2000 championship. He appeared in 48 games over three seasons, posting averages of 0.6 points and 0.3 rebounds in 2.4 minutes.

In 2021, Ishbia pledged $32 million to Michigan State’s athletic department. According to Sports Business Journal, it’s the single-largest gift from an individual that the school has ever received.

“It was such a great experience with Coach Izzo for that year,” Ishbia told The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy in 2021. “I had the chance to go with Coach Garland, and that would have been an amazing experience.

“I ended up making the decision, rightly or wrongly, based on a couple things. One, Izzo saying to me, ‘Hey, maybe you could apply some of these things to business and do something really even bigger than being a head coach one day.’ Also, I’ve been very close to my parents my whole life, and I always remember my dad coaching my sports, being involved in my life, and thinking that one day I wanted to be involved in my kids’ lives.”

MORE: Mat Ishbia is worth billions as coach of his business; he credits lessons learned from Tom Izzo at Michigan State

Net worth

According to Forbes, Ishbia has a net worth of $5.1 billion, making him the 502nd richest person in the world.