Mike Ashley (businessman)

Mike Ashley
Ashley in 2023
Born
Michael James Wallace Ashley[1]

(1964-09-09) 9 September 1964 (age 60)
Walsall, Staffordshire, England[2][3][4]
OccupationBusinessman
Years active1980–present
TitleCEO of Sports Direct (1982–2018)
Newcastle United owner (2007–21)
CEO of Frasers Group (2018–2022)
Spouse
Linda Jerlmyr
​
​
(m. 1988; div. 2003)​
Children3

Michael James Wallace Ashley (born 9 September 1964)[5] is a British retail entrepreneur who is the founder and former chief executive of Frasers Group plc (formerly Sports Direct International). He owned the Newcastle United football club between 2007 and 2021.[6]

According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2023, Ashley is the 49th richest person in the UK with an estimated net worth of £3.84 billion. In August 2021, Ashley announced that he intended to step down as CEO of Frasers Group plc in May 2022, but would remain a director of the main Board.[7]

  1. ^ "Company Overview of SportsDirect.com Retail Ltd: People". Bloomberg. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Mike Ashley: Who is the founder of Sports Direct?". BBC News. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  3. ^ Pierce, Andrew (11 January 2008). "Newcastle's unlikely lad Mike Ashley calls shots". Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  4. ^ Vandevelde, Mark (25 March 2016). "Mike Ashley, a shy and retiring retail insurgent". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  5. ^ Goodley, Simon (17 January 2014). "Sports Direct's Mike Ashley: nasty or nice?". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Rich List 2019: profiles 53-100, featuring Mike Ashley and Bernie Ecclestone". The Times. 12 May 2019. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Mike Ashley to step down as chief of Sports Direct owner Frasers Group". The Guardian. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.