Business & brands
Dan Gilbert
born 1962 · businessman, founder of Rocket Mortgage and Bedrock
Detroit-born mortgage billionaire who moved Quicken Loans downtown in 2010 and bought and rebuilt dozens of city landmarks through Bedrock.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 64- Birth name
- Daniel Bruce Gilbert
- Detroit years
- 1962–present
- Field
- Business & brands
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Gilbert was born in Detroit, where his father ran a bar, and grew up in Southfield. He studied at Michigan State and earned a law degree at Wayne State University. In 1985 he co-founded Rock Financial, which grew into Quicken Loans and later Rocket Mortgage, the nation's largest mortgage lender. In 2010 he moved the company's headquarters and 1,700 employees from Livonia into the former Compuware Building on Campus Martius, a turning point for a hollowed-out downtown. His real estate firm Bedrock, founded in 2011, bought and restored more than 100 properties, including the Book Tower, and built Hudson's Detroit on the site of the demolished J. L. Hudson store; General Motors moved its headquarters there in 2026. He also owns the Cleveland Cavaliers and backed the QLine streetcar. Critics say downtown's revival has left neighborhoods behind, and his outsized role in the city remains debated.
Highlights
- Co-founded Rock Financial (later Quicken Loans / Rocket Mortgage) in 1985
- Moved the company's headquarters to downtown Detroit in 2010
- Bedrock has acquired more than 100 downtown properties since 2011
- Built Hudson's Detroit on the site of the old Hudson's department store
- Owner of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers since 2005
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 4
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 2010–present
One Campus Martius (former Compuware Building)
Headquarters of Quicken Loans / Rocket Mortgage since the 2010 move downtown; Bedrock bought the building in 2014.
Founded · 2017–present
Hudson's Detroit
Bedrock's development on the site of the old Hudson's store; the office building opened in 2025 and GM's headquarters in January 2026. The tower is due in 2027.
Related place · 2015–present
Kamper's Rooftop Lounge
The long-empty 1920s skyscraper Gilbert bought in 2015 and reopened after a multi-year restoration with apartments, a hotel and shops.
Studied here · 1980s
Wayne State University Law School
He earned his law degree here and later gave the school $5 million (2016).