Metro Detroit entrepreneur and billionaire Dan Gilbert will talk about the tidings of Detroit, his own wildly successful journey, what’s ahead for our region and why he is an unapologetic champion for his beloved Motor City when he headlines the Detroit Free Press Breakfast Club forum Nov. 30 at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham.
I will have the distinct privilege of speaking with Gilbert in front of a sold-out audience of the who’s who in our business, political and grassroots community.
Gilbert has talked with me before about the genesis of his extraordinary career, which began delivering pizza while in high school and college as he saved up $5,000 to start his first mortgage company, Rock Mortgage, in 1985. That’s a long, long way from today, where Forbes recently listed him as the third wealthiest pro sports team owner (he owns the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers), with a reported net worth of $21.3 billion.
His story is intertwined with Detroit’s resurgence. He moved his headquarters (for Quicken Loans and other Rocket companies) to Detroit in 2010, purchased and rehabilitated numerous buildings downtown and helped inspire an entrepreneurial boom as companies like Google and Amazon gravitated to our town.
None of it has been easy and some of it has been accomplished while dealing with personal challenges and tragedy. Gilbert, who had a stroke in 2019, recently lost his beloved son, Nick, at the age of 26 to neurofibromatosis, a genetic disease.
Gilbert will talk about how that influenced his philanthropic efforts, too, including the recent nearly $400 million donation he and his wife, Jennifer, made to bring the world-renowned Shirley Ryan AbilityLab to Detroit and to found the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Institute as part of Henry Ford Health's campus expansion in Detroit.
Gilbert’s impact on the Motor City stands out as few others.
"Our individual stories are what make this region so special. At its core, The Breakfast Club series seeks to shine a spotlight on our stories in an effort to inform and inspire. For so many, Dan Gilbert's journey — his professional and personal story — is a source of inspiration," said Nicole Avery Nichols, editor of the Detroit Free Press. "Gilbert has been a pillar in our community, devoting both resources and passion to improving Detroit and laying the groundwork for the future of the city. We are looking forward to spending a morning engaging with one of our state's most tenacious and committed business leaders."