Man of mystery - and money
DUBBED "The Howard Hughes of British business” in the Sunday Times’ rich list, Mike Ashley now runs a sporting retail empire worth almost £2billion.
Ashley is known for his reclusive nature. Until recently, there were no known adult pictures of the Buckinghamshire
businessman, who built his wealth from scratch.
His mother still lives in a modest bungalow near to where Ashley grew up and although her son has been involved in the sports retail business for decades, he has never shown any inclination to take over a football club – until now.
Ashley made his millions from the Sports World chain of outlets, Lillywhites and brands such as Lonsdale, Kangol, Karrimor and Dunlop Slazenger.
He is also credited with owning stakes in Milletts, JD Sports and JJB Sports as well as sportsdirect.com online shop. He attended Burnham Grammar school, but left at 16 to set up a sports and ski wear shop in his local town.
By the late Nineties he ran over 100 stores in the UK and his Dunstable-based company now employs over 8,000 workers in Britain, Ireland, Slovenia and Belgium.
In 1984, aged 24, he married a Swedish property developer. The couple are now divorced, with his ex-wife Linda
having secured a £50m settlement.
Ashley is understood to have cut the deal in his bid for a takeover at Newcastle through an old friend in the North-east.
His home address is unclear. He is thought to live in a Hertfordshire mansion in the middle of a massive high-walled estate.
But when a local newspaper asked residents of a nearby village for any sightings of him last year, they received no response.
