What is Mike Ashley’s net worth?
FORMER Newcastle United FC owner Mike Ashley is a billionaire businessman, and owner of Sports Direct.
But is he married, and what’s his net worth?
Who is Mike Ashley?
Sports retailer tycoon Mike Ashley is a British billionaire retail entrepreneur.
He was born on September 9, 1964 in Walsall, making him 57 years old.
He owns sports brand Sports Direct and in 2018, he bought department store House of Fraser after they fell into administration.
His company Frasers Group owns various brands including Jack Wills, Game, and Evans Cycles.
What is his net worth?
Ashley is the 59th richest person in Britain, and has an estimated fortune of £2.995billion, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.
He has amassed an enormous retail empire after opening his first shop in Maidenhead in 1982.
Ashley’s home has its own tennis court, indoor and outdoors pools, its own cinema, a helicopter landing pad, and four garages.
How did he amass his fortune and what’s the latest?
Mike Ashley was born in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, on September 9, 1964.
After leaving school at 16, he was a county level squash player but after an injury he went into coaching instead.
He opened his first sport and ski shop in Maidenhead in 1982 using a £10,000 loan from his family, before opening other stores in and around London.
Ashley took complete control of Newcastle United in 2007, paying around £134million.
In August 2018, it was revealed Ashley had saved House of Fraser by snapping up the chain for £90million cash.
The tycoon then took over Jack Wills after the brand was put up for sale last month following financial trouble.
KPMG were appointed as joint administrators before the brand and its UK trading assets were immediately sold to Sports Direct.
On October 6, 2021, it was confirmed that Newcastle United had been sold to a Saudi-led consortium in a £300million deal.
Is Mike Ashley married and does he have children?
Mike Ashley married Linda Jerlmyr, from Sweden, in 1988.
The pair divorced in 2003 with a £50million settlement – which was one of the biggest in British legal history.
In July 2022, it was reported that the pair had rekindled their romance and were looking to move back in together 12 years on from their split.
Their three grown-up children Oliver, 31, Anna, 29, and Matilda, 25, have all now left home.