About Michael Ashley
  • Michael Ashley founded the U.K.'s largest sporting goods retailer, Sports Direct.
  • Ashley started Sports Direct in 1982 at age 18; it now has some 800 stores.
  • He took the company public in 2007, pocketing $1.8 billion from the IPO. That same year, he bought famed soccer club Newcastle United.
  • In 2021, Ashley sold Newcastle United to a consortium backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund for around $400 million.
  • He renamed Sports Direct's parent company Frasers Group in 2019, after acquiring department store chain House of Fraser.
  • Ashley handed the CEO reins of Frasers Group to his son-in-law, Michael Murray, and stepped down from the Frasers board of directors in 2022.
Wealth History
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Personal Stats
Age
59
Source of Wealth
Sports retailing, Self Made
Residence
Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Citizenship
United Kingdom
Marital Status
Divorced
Did you know
Ashley played squash growing up and reportedly dreamed of going pro, but his career was stopped short after an injury.
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