Quicken Loans Goes Public In Watershed Moment for Dan Gilbert

Dan Gilbert’s mortgage giant Quicken Loans is going public.

“This is clearly a watershed moment in the making of a billionaire.” — Chad Livengood, Crain’s Detroit Business

The corporation is now called Rocket Companies Inc., the culmination of a years-long rebranding campaign leading up to the move to go public. The deal has the potential to put a substantial sum of money in Chairman Dan Gilbert’s pocket, something many are hoping converts to more intentional investment in the city of Detroit.

Listen: How will Quicken Loans’ going public impact Detroit? 

Dawn Uhl-Zifilippo/WDET

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Chad Livengood, senior editor at Crain’s Detroit Business, says Quicken Loans’ move to go public is indicative of the company’s expansion beyond the mortgage industry.

According to Livengood, internal shuffling is pointing toward the creation of various arms inside the company, including real estate. 

“This is clearly a watershed moment in the making of a billionaire,” says Livengood.

Kirk Pinho, real estate reporter for Crain’s Detroit Business, says the board is stacked with close confidants of Gilbert, with no independent members. He says the parameters of the public deal has the potential for Gilbert to amass a substantial sum of money.

“He’s going to have a lot of money to play with. It’s just the way that he chooses to spend it,” says Pinho.

On the question of how the deal will impact the city of Detroit, Pinho says that the company’s move to go public has potential to boost the city’s real estate market, but may also price many out of living in the city, furthering the issue of gentrification.