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Cavs owner Dan Gilbert's net worth increases by $34 billion; now 2nd richest NBA team owner

After taking Rocket Companies public on Thursday, Cleveland Cavaliers chairman Dan Gilbert is now the second-richest team owner in the NBA.

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers are two years removed from their last winning season. But that hasn't stopped Dan Gilbert from significantly profiting.

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On Thursday, the Cavs' chairman took his business, Rocket Companies, public on the New York Stock Exchange. With shares trading at $19.30 at 12:40 p.m. ET on Thursday, Gilbert saw his net worth increase by a whopping $34 billion, according to Forbes.

Factoring his other business ventures  -- including the Cavs -- Gilbert's total net worth now measures at $41.1 billion. Per Forbes, that now makes him the 17th richest man in the United States and the second-richest NBA team owner, trailing only Los Angeles Clippers chairman Steve Ballmer ($73.1billion).

In fact, Gilbert isn't just the second-richest NBA owner, but the second-richest team owner in all of sports, surpassing the likes of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones ($8.7 billion), Brooklyn Nets owner Joseph Tsai ($13 billion) and Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper ($13 billion). 

After ranking 17th on Forbes' list of richest sports owners -- and sixth on the list of NBA owners -- with a net worth of $6.5 billion earlier this year, Gilbert now only trails Ballmer on the list of United States-based team owners.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, who founded Quicken Loans as Rock Financial in 1985, Gilbert purchased the Cavs from Gordon Gund for a reported price of $375 million in 2005. 

In February, Forbes estimated the franchise's worth to be $1.51 billion, despite the team sustaining two losing seasons following LeBron James' departure as a free agent in 2018.

In February of this year, the 58-year-old Gilbert returned to work while continuing to recover from a stroke he suffered eight months earlier.

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