According to Wikipedia Gilbert and a partner started the firm in 1985 and went public in 1998 as the largest independent mortgage company in the country.

Intuit (The parent that makes the Quicken financial software) bought the mortgage company in 1999 for 532 million.

Gilbert bought it back to be a private co in 2002 for 64 million.

So it figures Gilbert has a bunch of excess personal capital as he sold high on the company and bought it back at the low before the recent run up in the housing market.

Since its private there isnt much info on it. But as a mortgage underwriter they most assuredly sold off most if not all of their loans to the financial companies that are now having all the problems. They probably have very little exposure other than not having many new mortgages to write and focusing on “plain vanilla mortgages” rather than more exotic loans.