Robert J. Pera

Robert J. Pera (born March 10, 1978) is an American businessman and engineer who is the founder and chief executive officer of Ubiquiti Inc., a global communications technology company that he took public in 2011. In October 2012, Pera also became the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. At the age of 36, Pera earned a spot on Forbes list of the 10 youngest billionaires in the world.

, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$31.7 billion and that same year the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his net worth at US$58.2 billion.

Early life Pera was born on March 10, 1978, in St. Louis, Missouri, to a father who worked in business consulting and a mother who worked in public relations. That company provided networking and database services to local businesses. After high school, Pera attended the University of California, San Diego, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. in electrical engineering and a B.A. in Japanese language. He stayed on at UC San Diego and completed his master's in electrical engineering with an emphasis on digital communications and circuit design.

Career Apple After graduation, Pera, who admired Steve Jobs, secured a job at Apple Inc., where he tested the company's Wi-Fi devices to ensure compliance with Federal Communications Commission standards for electromagnetic emissions.

Memphis Grizzlies On June 11, 2012, sources told ESPN.com that Michael Heisley had an agreement in principle to sell the Memphis Grizzlies to Robert Pera. The official sale of the Memphis Grizzlies to Pera was approved on October 25, 2012. The Grizzlies made the NBA playoffs in the two seasons before Pera purchased the team and made the playoffs during the first five seasons of his tenure as owner. In the first year of Pera's ownership, the Grizzlies won a club record 56 games and made its first-ever appearance in the Western Conference Finals. The Grizzlies team won more playoff games during the first two years of Pera's tenure than it did during the team's 17 previous seasons in the NBA.

Pera is a supporter of the Grizzlies Foundation, a sports charity which operates in Memphis.