Mike Ashley Net Worth

Michael James Wallace Ashley is a British billionaire retail entrepreneur in the sporting goods market, and the chief executive of Sports Direct. He entered the department store industry following the acquisition of House of Fraser following administration in 2018.

How Much is Mike Ashley Worth

Mike Ashley Net Worth and salary in 2019

Sports retailer tycoon Mike Ashley is a British billionaire retail entrepreneur and is worth an estimated £2.22billion.

He owns sports brand Sports Direct and in 2018 bought the impressive department store House of Fraser following administration.

On August 5, it was reported the billionaire bought the high-street preppy clothing store ‘Jack Wills’ for 12.7 million pounds.

The tycoon also has a £5million helicopter for his commute into work.

He bought the impressive home in 1993 after another mansion in Hertfordshire proved too small for his family.

He also owns Newcastle United FC.

Personal Life

In 1988 aged 24, he married Linda Jerlmyr, a Swedish born economics graduate, and the couple have three children. The family home was a converted 16-bedroom hotel in North London. The couple quietly divorced in 2003, culminating one of the biggest settlements in British legal history, with Ashley reportedly handing over the family home, multiple properties and assets with a total worth of £50m. However, in 2016 Ashley and Linda confirmed that they have rekindled their relationship.

Ashley is protective of his private life. He is known to prefer casual dress of shirt and chinos or a track suit rather than a suit, and often carries his essential business tool of a mobile phone in a plastic carrier bag rather than a briefcase.

Professional career

Michael Ashley launched his first shop in 1982 in Maidenhead, an affluent town in Berkshire. He was then only eighteen years old. He named it Mike Ashley Sports and traded under low margin.

By 1984, Michael had earned enough profit to enable him to expand. He then opened Preston Sports Store in London by using private money. It was also a successful venture and earned him good margin.

Buoyed by its success, he opened several other stores in and around London. By 1992, the company had twelve stores, each of which was funded by private money. The chain was named Sports and Ski.

Between 1995 and 1996, Mike renamed the chain as Sports Soccer. By the end of 1990s, the brand had around fifty stores across the country. He also acquired a property measuring around 100,000 sq feet in Dunstable, a market town in Bedfordshire. The company head office was relocated to this newly acquired property.

Today, the Sports Direct is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has around 500 retail stores in different parts of Europe and employs more than eleven thousand people. Michael remains the Executive Deputy Chairman of the group.

Although Sport Direct is now a public traded company, Michael Ashley continues to hold majority stake (61.7%) in it. He primarily made his money by buying brands; Donnay being the first major brands to be acquired by him. Later he acquired other brands like Dunlop Slazenger, Everlast, Karrimor, Kangol, Lonsdale, Firetrap etc.

Early Life

Michael Ashley was born on 9 September 1964, in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England. Nothing is known about is parents; however, it is certain that he came from a humble background. He attended Burnham Grammar School and graduated from there in 1980 at the age of 16. After passing from school, he started playing squash at the county level. An injury put an end to his sporting career; but it could not severe his association with squash.

Michael started coaching students and very soon became a county level squash coach. However, that too was short-lived. The businessman in him led him to a different direction.