Cavs’ Dan Gilbert Climbs To Third-Richest Owner In Sports

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has catapulted to the econd-richest team owner in the NBA and third-richest in sports, according to Sergei Klebnikov of Forbes.

Gilbert’s primary source of wealth is his Quicken Loans mortgage company and is worth $51.9 billion. He trails only top NBA earner Steve Ballmer of the Clippers ($68.7 billion), per Klebnikov.

But it was Gilbert who was this year’s biggest gainer in pro sports, increasing his earnings by about 700 percent since last year, thanks to the success of Quicken Loans.

“Now the largest mortgage lender in the United States, Quicken went public as Rocket Companies at a massive $36 billion valuation in August 2020, catapulting Gilbert up the ranks of the world’s richest billionaires,” Klebnikov wrote.

Gilbert, 59, is continuing to recover and slowly progress after suffering a stroke in May 2019. He has remained mostly out the limelight since then, particularly when it comes to the Cavs, with his team politely turning down an interview request from HoopsWire several months ago.

He founded Rock Financial with brother Gary Gilbert in 1985, growing the company into one of the largest independent mortgage lenders in the country. He has served as Cavs majority owner since 2005.

A report from The Athletic in March suggested that Gilbert may be in the process of turning over the Cavs’ reigns to son Grant Gilbert, though there has been no further details since.

Grizzlies owner Robert Pera was sixth on Forbes’ list of richest sports owners, with the Nets’ Joseph Tie placing 10th.