Biography
It is unlikely that the biography of British businessman Alexander Gilkes would have interested the Russian public if not for his affair with tennis player Maria Sharapova, to whom the people have always been partial. They wanted to marry her off for a long time, but it never worked out, but it looks like now is the time. Masha announced the end of her sports career, and she found an enviable groom: smart, rich, well-mannered Alexander achieved success in business and is close to the British royal family.
Other news
Wozniacki posed for Sports Illustrated
read more The most beautiful tennis players of the decade: part 1
more Roland Garros will be held with spectators
more details
Cancel
Childhood and youth
Alexander was born on July 16, 1979 in London. The family did not belong to the aristocracy, but they could be classified as a privileged class. After all, dermatologist Jeremy Gilkes and his wife, a teacher, provided their son with an education at the prestigious Eton College. There, Alex met Prince Harry and his brother, and soon a friendship began between the young people, which they maintain to this day.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Alexander Gilkes (@gilkesa) on Apr 8, 2020 at 7:09pm PDT
Alexander Gilkes as a child with his brother
The guy grew up inquisitive and sophisticated, interested in art and literature. His mother taught a course on Russian literature at Oxford, so Alexander was partial to Russian culture. The Briton even lived in St. Petersburg, where he managed to learn the language of Alexander Pushkin. Who would have guessed that this would be useful to him in his personal life. Gilkes received his higher education at the University of Bristol.
Personal life
The guy with blue eyes managed to conquer more than one woman’s heart. His girlfriend in his youth was Kate Middleton's sister Pippa, but this relationship did not lead to anything serious. Alex realized that he was “in trouble” after meeting with designer Misha Nonoo, who took a place in his heart for 13 long years. The girl became Gilks's wife in 2012, but 4 years later it became known that the businessman had divorced. Friends said that the cause of the discord was a clash of ambitions: both spouses were too independent and ambitious.
They also say that it was Misha who introduced Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. At their wedding in May 2020, Alexander met his ex-wife, which hardly gave him pleasure: after all, the man was painfully going through the breakup and did not even hope that he could once again find personal happiness. Be that as it may, in the summer of the same year, cardiac therapy arrived in the form of the beautiful blonde Maria Sharapova, with whom the British millionaire began to regularly appear in public.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Alexander Gilkes (@gilkesa) on Feb 10, 2020 at 10:44am PST
Alexander Gilkes and Maria Sharapova
Evidence of the seriousness of this relationship was the joint photographs that they began to post on Instagram. The difference in nationality and mentality did not become a hindrance; Gilks’ knowledge of the Russian language also came in handy. And even the fact that the partner is slightly shorter than the tennis player did not cause complexes (for an athlete with a height of 188 cm, finding a taller man is still a task). Maria was glad that she had met a man who had his own opinion and life’s work. It was important for her that her boyfriend, like her, achieved everything on his own.
In February 2020, the tennis player announced that she was retiring from the sport. The man reacted positively, noting that after the first chapter in her life, a second, no less successful, awaits her. This statement was easily interpreted as a hint that Gilkes would soon come forward with matrimonial intentions. In addition, Maria showed off on Instagram with a large diamond on her finger, which also directs thoughts in a certain direction.
However, Sharapova and her lover have not yet made official statements about the upcoming wedding. At the same time, Alexander never tires of assuring Masha of love and devotion on social networks. The public looks at the couple with impatience: after all, they are already at that age when it is time to think about a cozy nest and children.
Sharapova wins nothing. But she remains the most successful athlete in Russia
In the Sport24 and PwC rating “50 most successful athletes in Russia” Maria Sharapova is in third place. In a year, she earned more than $17 million. There are no prizes for performances at tournaments among the main sources of income. In terms of sporting achievements, 2019 is definitely not Sharapova’s year. She often withdrew from tournaments due to injuries, lost a lot and for the first time in her career was eliminated in the first round of the prestigious US Open, after which she actually ended the season.
The new one will have to start far beyond the top hundred of the WTA rankings. This means that you now need to get into the main draw of the most prestigious tournaments through qualification. Or wait for the mercy of the organizers who can provide a wild card. The last time Maria found herself in such conditions was in 2020, when she returned to the court after a doping disqualification. But both then and now he retains the status of a media star, advertising appeal and impressive amounts in bank accounts. Sport24 tells how she does it.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on Oct 14, 2019 at 5:52am PDT
Just business
Sharapova's business story began at one of the children's tournaments in Florida, where 11-year-old Maria fought with girls 2-3 years older. Former tennis player Betsy Nagelsen watched from the stands. She retired from acting in 1996 and worked as a television commentator, but most importantly, she was the wife of Mark McCormack, founder of the marketing agency IMG.
Seeing a phenomenal Russian girl on the court, Nagelsen called her husband and then Gavin Forbes, IMG’s chief tennis scout. Forbes was struck by Maria's story: usually mothers promote their daughters' tennis careers, but here it was a different story - dad took little Masha from Russia to the States, and mom stayed at home in Sochi.
In her autobiography, Sharapova allowed Gavin to talk in detail about their first meeting. In addition to the obligatory delight, there is a very important dialogue: “Maria, what do you want to do in life?” - Forbes asked. “I want to be the best tennis player in the world,” Masha answered. These words determined her future. IMG simply could not miss such a child.
Rumors that the agency was about to sign a talented Russian girl with an interesting life story alarmed the market: everyone wanted Sharapova, but it was IMG who got the young athlete. “Because they were the first to pay attention to us and because at that time their offer was the best for us,” Sharapova explains in her autobiography.
Sharapova's father asked for $50 thousand a year to rent an apartment, buy a car and pay off some debts, but Gavin Forbes explained that more money would be needed. Sharapova's first contract with IMG was for $100 thousand per year. “That contract changed our whole lives,” Sharapova recalls. “We didn’t have to worry about food and a roof over our heads... This money that began to regularly flow into our account taught me a lot.”
Six years later, Sharapova won Wimbledon, and her personal agent Max Eisenbud agreed on a contract with her first major sponsor, the mobile phone manufacturer Motorola. Western media estimated the cost of the agreement at $1 million per year.
“I had better offers. But based on Max’s idea, we decided to work only with well-known and high-quality brands.”
Eisenbud was right. Offers literally rained down on the tennis player - one more interesting than the other. TAG Heuer, Land Rover, Canon and so on. And technical sponsor Nike offered a record agreement, under the terms of which Sharapova was entitled to $70 million over eight years of cooperation. As a result, she earned about $20 million annually from advertising - at least three times more than at tournaments, even in the most successful years in the sporting sense.
“I never planned to become a major product promoter or the face of advertising campaigns - it happened naturally,” writes Maria. “At first it was one of the side effects of what I did at tournaments, and then it became clear that thanks to this I became famous and could earn completely different money.
I have been fortunate to work with Nike, TAG Heuer, Porsche and other brands. Cooperation with them gave me a lot of experience, but other people make decisions there, but I wanted to take everything into my own hands, manage my money, implement my ideas.”
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on Oct 3, 2019 at 8:00am PDT
This desire materialized in 2012, when the Sugarpova confectionery brand entered the market. The first to appear in the product line were chewing candies and gum in the shape of tennis balls, shoes and women's lips folded into a smile.
Given Maria's busy schedule, Eisenbud figured out how to make the most of her time: the presentation of the candies almost always coincided (and coincides) with tennis tournaments, real and exhibition, in which Sharapova takes part. In the first year of the brand’s existence alone, the brand managed to sell more than 1.5 million packages of candies, from each of which, according to Bloomberg, Sharapova received about $1.1 in net profit.
By 2020, the product line has expanded significantly. Now under the Sugarpova brand you can find not only chewing candies, but also chocolate and chocolate candies with the most intricate fillings. Maria spoke about her favorite ones on her Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
Sharing my top 5 Sugarpova flavors because it's Sunday and just in case you haven't perfected your stocking stuffers yet wink wink
