He donated to the main campaign of Alex Larry, a Democrat, in this year’s Wisconsin Senate race. Lasry is the son of Marc Lasry, who owns the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, and is the chief executive officer of the Bucks. Ishbia also supported both Republicans in the 2020 Senate elections in Georgia, including the incumbent, Kelly Loeffler, who owns the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream. Loeffler has a public feud with predominantly Black players on her team, who backed her Democratic Party rival after she denigrate the Black Lives Matter movement. She lose to that opponentRev. Raphael Warnock, the Negro, and then she sold The Dream.
Ishbia has also returned her alma mater. Last year, he pledged $32 million to the State of Michigan. On “Real Sports,” he said an additional $14 million will go toward the $95 million salary of the school football coach, Mel Tucker.
Two years ago, Izzo connected Ishbia with Dick Vitale, the university’s basketball broadcaster who also raises money for childhood cancer research. Vitale said Ishbia offered him $1 million in their first conversation, after which he and his brother, Justin, went on to donate seven more figures.
“I was shocked,” Vitale said. “Are you kidding me? That is very rare. I wish I could have more entertainers and more athletes and more financially successful people join me in my quest. But it’s not that easy.”
Group chat, chanting and mortgage
Occasionally, Ishbia would bring her three children, ages 8, 9, and 11, to the office. They would come to UWM’s senior leadership meetings filled with notebooks.
Melinda Wilner, chief executive officer of UWM since 2015, said: “It was interesting to look over and, you know, watch as they wrote those things down.
Ishbia’s father sits on UWM’s board of directors and still attends some company meetings.
“He certainly instilled in Mat and his brother a strong work ethic,” said Sarah DeCiantis, marketing director at UWM.
