Robert Sarver

Robert Sarver (born 1960) is an American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Value Partners, a real estate development company, and the owner of the Phoenix Suns and RCD Mallorca.

Robert Sarver
Sarver, 2011
Born1961 (age 58–59)
Tucson, Arizona, US
NationalityAmerican
EducationSabino High School
Alma materUniversity of Arizona
OccupationBusinessman
Real estate developer
Known forOwner of the Phoenix Suns
Owner of RCD Mallorca
President of Western Alliance Bancorporation
Co–Owner of Southwest Value Partners
Net worthUS$400 million (2019)
Spouse(s)Penny Sanders
Children3
Parent(s)Irene and Jack Sarver

Early life and education

Sarver was born in Tucson to Irene and Jack Sarver. Sarver is Jewish.[1] His father was a prominent Tucson businessman, banker and hotel developer (the elder Sarver built the Aztec Inn, the Plaza International Hotel (now an Aloft Hotel) at Speedway and Campbell in Tucson in the early 1970s,[2] built and operated the Tucson area Howard Johnson's locations, and headed a local savings and loan). Jack Sarver died of a heart attack in 1979; Robert Sarver would eventually donate to his alma mater, University of Arizona, funds to its heart research center, which in 1998 was renamed the Sarver Heart Center in honor of his father.[3] At age 16, he went to work for his father's company, American Savings and Loan.[4] Sarver is a 1979 graduate of Sabino High School in Tucson, and a 1982 graduate of University of Arizona with a bachelor's degree in business administration.[4] In 1983, Sarver became a certified public accountant.[4]

Career

Banking

In 1984, Sarver founded the National Bank of Tucson (which he expanded statewide and changed the name to the National Bank of Arizona).[4] In 1994, he sold the National Bank of Arizona, then the largest independent bank in the state, to Zions Bancorporation.[4] In 1995, he acquired Grossmont Bank, one of San Diego's largest community banks. Grossmont was also sold to Zions Bancorporation in 1997.[5] In 1998, Sarver led Zions Bancorporation's acquisition of Sumitomo Bank of California.[4] In 2003, he became chairman, president, and CEO of Western Alliance Bancorporation.[4][6]

Real estate development

In 1990, he co-founded the real estate company Southwest Value Partners with Millard Seldin.[4] In 1995, Southwest Value Partners purchased the Emerald Plaza in San Diego.[4] In 2004, his jointly owned real estate firm, Southwest Value Partners, sold the Emerald Plaza and two other San Diego office buildings to Santa Ana real estate firm, Triple Net Properties, for $274.5 million.[7]

Phoenix Suns

A lifelong sports fan, Sarver's quest to purchase an NBA team began with a conversation with University of Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson. Olson referred Sarver to Steve Kerr, a former player at Arizona and a 15-year NBA veteran, to assist him in buying an NBA franchise. In 2004, he purchased the Suns for a then record $401 million.[4]

Rangers

In January 2015, Sarver offered £20 million for control of Scottish football side Rangers Football Club, having had a bid of £18 million turned down a couple of weeks earlier. The second offer was also rejected, and Sarver ended his pursuit to buy Rangers.

RCD Mallorca

In January 2016, Sarver bought football team RCD Mallorca, at the time in the Spanish second division, for €20 million. [8]

Personal life

In 1996, he married Penny Sanders,[4] a Kansas City, Missouri native; they have three sons: Max (b. 1997), Jake (b. 1999), and Zach Sarver (b. 2001).[9] They live in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Sarver is on the board of trustees of the Sarver Heart Center (Tucson), which he helped build in memory of his late father, who was among the first in an experimental group to undergo bypass surgery. The Sarver Center is affiliated with the University of Arizona and houses over 40 physicians and researchers working on heart disease.[9]

References
  1. "Wandering Jews: Former Tucsonans thrive in new locales – Robert Sarver". Arizona Jewish Post. September 15, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  2. Arizona Daily Star article on the former Plaza International Hotel, built by Robert Sarver's father
  3. Sarver Heart Center bio on Robert Sarver Archived August 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Rivera, Steve (April 23, 2005). "Having a Blast". Tucson Citizen. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  5. Campbell, Joel (July 8, 1997). "Zions to add San Diego bank and Oakland finance firm". Deseret News. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  6. Wiles, Russ (April 6, 2011). "Suns' Sarver is first and foremost a banker". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  7. Southwest Value Partners: "Three Downtown Towers are Sold for $274 Million" June 17, 2004. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  8. Steve Nash buys majority stake in Mallorca Marca. January 5, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2018. Under his poor management the team has since been demoted to third division.
  9. University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center: "The Sarver Family" Retrieved November 30, 2017.
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