Robert Sarver

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Robert Sarver (born 1961 in Tucson, Arizona) is the current majority owner of the Phoenix Suns. He bought the NBA franchise from Jerry Colangelo.

After graduating from the University of Arizona with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1982, Sarver founded the National Bank of Arizona (then the National Bank of Tucson) at age 23 in 1984. He sold it to Zions Bancorporation in 1994. Prior to the sale, National Bank of Arizona had become the largest independent bank in the state. In 1995 he acquired Grossmont Bank, one of San Diego's largest community banks.

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.

Sarver sits on the Board of Trustees of the Sarver Heart Center at the University of Arizona, which he helped build, in memory of his late father, Jack, who was among the first in an experimental group to undergo bypass surgery. The center now houses over 40 physicians and researchers dedicated to fighting heart disease.

Sarver has a 9 handicap in golf and plays tennis and volleyball in his spare time. During his first date with his eventual wife, Penny Sanders, he invited her to watch the NCAA Basketball Tournament at his house.

He and his wife, a Kansas City, Mo. native, have three boys: Max, Jake and Zach.

Sarver is a 1979 graduate of Sabino High School in Tucson.