What Mike Ashley's net worth is as Sheffield Wednesday takeover chance remains | OneFootball

The former Newcastle United chairman is back on the takeover scene at Hillsborough

Sheffield Wednesday's season has been one of immense frustration and uncertainty, and that has continued to be the case at the start of 2026.

The Owls and their supporters were hopeful that they would enter a new era as soon as possible after it was confirmed that, after entering administration on October 24th, Dejphon Chansiri's dramatic and chaotic 10-year spell as owner at Hillsborough had ground to a halt.

Throughout the final weeks of 2025, a plethora of investors then came to the fore with what they believed to have been significant and sufficient bids in order to acquire permanent control of the South Yorkshire club, who are currently under the interim financial management of administrative group, Begbies Traynor - fronted by the trio of Paul Stanley, Julian Pitts and lifelong Wednesdayite, Kris Wigfield.

Many, rather understandably, had written off the Owls' chances of finishing anywhere but bottom of the Championship before the current campaign had got underway, with Henrik Pedersen having very few resources to work with, both in terms of finances and his playing squad.

Those predictions were only backed up by the deduction of a combined 18 points in the final weeks of last year, with an automatic 12-point deficit followed up by that of a further six points due to further financial breaches.

As such, the Steel City side are miles adrift at the bottom of the table, with a first season in League One since 2023 looming as they are set to hold the unwanted record of the lowest points total in Championship history.

As if the previous uncertainty wasn't enough for Owls fans to endure, their prospective takeover from James Bord is now hanging in the balance, with it being reported that his and Felix Roemer's prior connections to gambling and crypto-gambling are plunging such developments into doubt as they undergo the EFL's Owners and Directors test.

Reports have since emerged that former Newcastle United owner, Mike Ashley, is back on the scene alongside the Storch Family, as they wait to see if any further complications arise regarding Bord's takeover, after he was granted 'preferred bidder' status on Christmas Eve.

With Ashley now somewhat back in the limelight on this particular front, Football League World have looked into his net worth, and how he was able to generate such funds over time.

Mike Ashley's current net worth amid fresh Sheffield Wednesday takeover twist

As per The Sunday Times' 2025 Rich List, Ashley is worth a reported £3.12bn, which makes him the 52nd-richest person in the United Kingdom, although Forbes' most recent valuation of the sportswear tycoon is at an even higher sum of approximately £4.2bn.

It is hard to picture Ashley without the synonymous connection to his brand, Sports Direct, which was initially set up as 'Mike Ashley Sports' in 1982, with the-then 18-year-old receiving a £10,000 loan from his family to open his first shop.

The company has since had multiple rebrands, such as Sports Soccer, Soccer World and Sports Direct, which became the company's name in 2008 - one year after the Walsall native took control of Newcastle United for a reported £134m from Sir John Hall and Freddy Shepherd.

Ashley then took control of the House of Fraser department store chain in 2018, subsequently rebranding the company as 'Frasers Group', before stepping down from its board in 2022 after handing over the running of the group to his son-in-law, Michael Murray.

That also came one year after his controversial 14-year tenure at St James' Park reached its conclusion, as, after years of protests from those on Tyneside, the Magpies were taken over by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund after a deal worth in excess of £300m was agreed between the relevant parties.

Ashley also had control of Coventry City's CBS Arena between November 2022 and August 2025, before selling the stadium to the club for a sizeable eight-figure sum.

Mike Ashley was previously luckless in Sheffield Wednesday takeover bid

As previously mentioned, this is not the first time Ashley has been on this particular scene regarding a takeover of the Owls.

The 61-year-old became heavily linked, alongside former Crystal Palace stakeholder, John Textor, in takeover moves of both Wednesday and Derby County, before seeing a £20m bid rejected by Begbies Traynor on November 26th.

Such developments were then followed by the granting of preferred bidder status to Bord. However, it remains to be seen if the former Sheffield United advisor is to pull through the EFL's testing unscathed.

Failure to do so would only add an extra layer of uncertainty to what has been a drawn-out process, allowing Ashley another potential attempt to become the club's latest custodian.