Dave Whelan Net Worth

What is Dave Whelan’s net worth? 

Table of Contents

• Introduction 
• Dave Whelan Facts
• Early Life 
• Career 
• Career Earnings
• Dave Whelan’s Net Worth Annually
• Personal Life
• Awards & Achievements
• How Does Dave Whelan Spend His Money?
• Highlights 
• Favorite Dave Whelan Quotes
• 3 Amazing Lessons From Dave Whelan
• Summary 

Introduction 

Dave Whelan began his career in the English football league and then retired to open a series of supermarkets. Dave is a pure example of a businessman and has an impressive net worth to show for it. Playing for Blackburn Rovers (from 1956 to 1960) and Crewe Alexandra (from 1962 to 1966) was just the beginning of his illustrious career.

Considered the most beloved English football player of all time, his debut was unfortunately brought to a halt due to a serious injury to his leg. This resulted in him being traded to Crewe Alexandra before retiring.

Not letting that stop him, Dave went on to start his own business which became the UK’s second biggest retailer.

As of January 2023, Dave Whelan’s net worth is estimated to be $210 Million.

Dave Whelan Facts

His football career started in 1956 with Backburn Rovers, where he played in defense.

Dave Whelan represented Blackburn Rovers 78 times as a left back.

Due to a serious injury to his leg, Dave was unable to finish the 1960 FA Cup final.

The FA charged Whelan with an aggravated infringement of FA Rule E3 in November 2014 due to his racial remarks and he was handed a six-week suspension and a £50,000 fine.

Dave Whelan is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 67kg.

A Conservative Party supporter through and through, Dave donated £250,000 to the party in 2008.

Early Life 

David Whelan was born on the 24th of November 1936 in Bradford, England, and raised in Wigan.

Unfortunately, there is little record of his early years and he’s been tight-lipped about his family and how he was brought up. His forebearers were of Irish decent and he attended school in Wigan.

Other than that, we know little of his prowess at school.

Career 

Even though we do not have much information about his early childhood, we do know a lot about his career due to the great impact he’s had on English football.

During his footballing years, Dave became the face of what every fan wanted from their football players. Beginning his career with Blackburn Rovers, Dave played a total of 78 times before the tragic injury to his leg ended his hopes of completing the 1960 FA Cup Final.

The serious injury he suffered during the 1960 FA Cup Final was one of many serious injuries suffered by players in the 1950 to 1960 Era. It was so bad that it became known as the Wembley Hoodoo.

Soon after being injured, Whelan was sold to Crewe Alexandra F.C., where he continued to play for several years before finally retiring.

After retirement, Dave went on to divert all his attention to a chain of supermarkets named “Whelan’s Discount Stores”, which he ended up selling to Ken Morrison for 1.5 million pounds.

His move from football to CEO, one of the highest paying careers, paid off handsomely. This gave him the means to follow his passion, managing Wigan Athletic Football Club.

More Professional Soccer Players:

Andrés Iniesta Net Worth

Antoine Griezmann Net Worth

Bastian Schweinsteiger Net Worth

Philipp Lahm Net Worth

Kevin De Bruyne Net Worth

Harry Kane Net Worth

Jamie Carragher Net Worth

Achieving Success At Wigen Athletic Football Club

In 1995, Whelan bought the Wigan Athletic Foot Club, while it was languishing in division three.

Dave Whelan made a promise to get Wigan Athletic into the Premier League, a promise which he kept and fulfilled in 2005. Funding of £30 million saw the construction of the club’s new JJB Stadium. It was to become one of the largest stadiums outside the Premier League.

During 2007, Dave’s colleagues were retiring one by one and once Maurice Lindsay retired, Dave announced that he would be willing to sell the club after a proposed takeover from “a genuine Wigan fan”. On the 24th of October 2007, a former owner of Harlequins RL took over Wigan Warriors and bought out Whelan’s 89 percent stake in the club.

JJB Sports Store

After his initially successful foray into the retail industry, Dave bought a fishing and sports store in 1977 named JJB Sports. Focusing on mainly sporting goods, JJB Sports became a chain of 7 stores by 1980. It is currently ranked as the UK’s second biggest sports retailer.

In a surprising turn of events, JJB Sports was fined £5.5 million in 2005 by the Office of Fair Trading. JJB Sports was found guilty of fixing the price of the English National Team and Manchester United shirts.

Consumer Magazine took it upon themselves to issue proceedings against JJB Sports to sue the retailer for damages on behalf of the affected consumers.

Since then, Whelan lost interest very quickly in the company and stepped down as chairman. But in October 2006, he intervened to overturn the settlement of a pay dispute and branded it “the equivalent of Communism” which led to a two-day strike.

In January 2007, he sold £50 million of shares in JJB Sports and eventually sold the 29 percent remaining later that same year. This led to an investigation by the Financial Services Authority because it was a contradiction of a statement that Whelan made to the stock exchange on the 26th of January 2007.

In March 2009, Whelan confirmed his acquisition of JJB Fitness Clubs and, instead of the sponsorship being Wigans Athletics JJB, it was renamed DW. The JJB Stadium is now known as the DW stadium, which is fitting given that Dave Whelan built and then owned it.

Career Earnings

Here’s an overview of Dave Whelan’s earnings throughout his career. The figures are compiled from estimates of income earned from salary, endorsements, and dividends.

His other sources of income include income from various business deals and fees.

Dave Whelan is retired but has an estimated income of approximately $17 Million annually.

Here’s an estimated overview of his annual income:

Dave Whelan’s Salary In 2018 – $18 million

Dave Whelan’s Salary In 2019 – $15 million

Dave Whelan’s Salary In 2020 – $10 million

Dave Whelan’s Salary In 2021- $12 million

Dave Whelan’s Salary In 2022- $17 million

Dave Whelan’s Net Worth Annually

Dave Whelan played football in an era before the multi-million dollar deals that soccer players enjoy today. He’s made his money though hard work and achieved impressive growth in his businesses through his immense entrepreneurial ability.

Here’s a breakdown of Dave Whelan’s annual net worth:

Dave Whelan’s Net Worth In 2015 – $100 million

Dave Whelan’s Net Worth In 2016 – $120 million

Dave Whelan’s Net Worth In 2017 – $135 million

Dave Whelan’s Net Worth In 2018 – $150 million

Dave Whelan’s Net Worth In 2019 – $165 million

Dave Whelan’s Net Worth In 2020 – $185 million

Dave Whelan’s Net Worth In 2021 – $200 million

Dave Whelan’s Net Worth In 2022 – $210 million

Personal Life

Dave Whelan has a lot that he has not shared with the public when it comes to his personal life and childhood.

What we do know is that he has a wife named Pat, a daughter named Jane, a son named Paul, and four grandchildren (one of whom is David Sharpe). David was appointed club chairman after Dave resigned in 2015.

Dave currently resides in Parbold, Lancashire.

Awards & Achievements

Dave Whelan has been a popular character in English football for 60 years. While he guards his private life and business achievements, we do know that he is as successful in the boardroom as he was on the football field.

Here are some highlights from Dave Whelan’s career:

He was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Wigan by Wigan Borough Council on the 30th of August 2007.

In July 2015, he was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) by the University of Bolton.

With his football-related honors, Dave has won the FA Cup (2012 to 2013), the Second Division (2002 to 2003), and the Third Division (1996 to 1997) with Wigan Athletic.

His sports retail chain is the second largest in the United Kingdom.

How Does Dave Whelan Spend His Money?

Even with the amount that Dave Whelan earns and his huge wealth, he is mostly content to spend time with his family and remain fit and healthy.

Dave does have properties all over the United Kingdom as well as a house in Scotland. His home in London has a price tag of $10 million. He doesn’t own any jets and is not too fond of the most expensive cars in the world either.

Dave Whelan has retired from actively managing both his retail and football investments. 

Highlights 

From humble beginnings, Dave Whelan was able to work his way up the ladder to stand on the turf at Wembley and play in an FA Cup Final. He took that same impressive ability and turned his attention to managing a highly successful retail chain and football club.

Here are some of the best highlights of Dave Whelan’s career: 

Whelan sold £50 million worth of JJB shares in 2007.

As a former owner and Chairman of Wigan Athletic, Dave proudly passed ownership and the Chairmanship to his grandson, David Sharp.

Dave Whelan was the chairman of Wigan Athletic for over twenty years.

In March 2009, Dave re-acquired the troubled JJB Sports nationwide chain and Wigan Athletics stadium became the DW Stadium with their new sponsor, DW Sports Fitness.

Whelan took Wigan Athletic to the Premier League in 2005.

Favorite Dave Whelan Quotes

Dave Whelan is fiercely patriotic, seeing it as his duty to defend the honor of his club and his nation.

While this may not endear him to certain people within the establishment, he is recognized as loyal and honest with a deep love of the game of football and his country.

Here are our favorite quotes from Dave Whelan:

3 Amazing Lessons From Dave Whelan

Dave Whelan is open and honest in his dealings with his players and his business partners.

The hallmark of his management style is trust and honesty. Here are three pieces of advice from this legendary soccer player and business leader.

1. Never Give Up

Dave is the epitome of endurance and grit. He not only talks the talk, but he walks it as well. When you face adversity, never stop trying, as there is always a way to get to the top.

2. Everyone Deserves A Second Chance

It is easy to become jaded and lord it over your employees and family when you’ve experienced the success that Dave Whelan has. However, he’s never let success and fame go to his head and remains a down-to-earth and approachable individual.

3. Money Is Not Always The Key To Happiness

Dave Whelan is a family man who is not overly impressed by money. He rates family as a far higher priority in his life and proudly appointed his grandson to the chairmanship of his beloved football club. 

Summary 

Through the ups and downs of David Whelan’s career, he still seemed to sustain his self-possessed image at the top. Fame and wealth haven’t changed his down-to-earth, caring nature.

Being a great businessman, he was able to pick himself up after adversity and still pursue his passions. Despite his age, David is on top of his game at the ripe old age of 85.

As of January 2023, Dave Whelan’s net worth is estimated to be $210 Million.

What do you think about Dave Whelan’s net worth? Leave a comment below.