Maria Sharapova (38 years old), who in 2016 took advantage of her 15-month doping break to study management and leadership at Harvard Business School, has been dubbed “the money-making machine” by the Daily Mail.
Tamara Prenn looks at how the Russian tennis star went from tennis to negotiating millions and exposes the truth behind the mysterious end of the $187 million brand that launched her business empire.
Maria Sharapova, whose net worth was last estimated by Forbes at nearly $220 million, has created a model for diversified success that has become an example of lucrative sporting retirement.
Maria Sharapova earned more than $300 million in endorsements and has a large real estate portfolio
During her 11 years in the sport, Sharapova became a magnet for brands, earning up to $300 million in endorsements. She was the face of Gatorade, Porsche, Tiffany & Co, Tag Heuer, Evian, Motorola and Land Rover, among other brands, and had an exclusive clothing line with Nike.
Sharapova left tennis in 2020 at the age of just 32, and after retiring she continued to work for Stella Artois, Aman Hotels, Hastens and Dubai CFI.
Among his real estate holdings are an $8.6 million ranch in Summerland, California, and an $11 million mansion in Montecito, California. He recently sold his Manhattan Beach mansion to Luka Doncic for $25 million.
Sharapova’s business empire started with Supergoop!… which she sold for $750 million!
Maria Sharapova, who was world number one for 21 weeks and won five Grand Slams, caught the investment bug during her playing career and at the age of 26 she started out as a businesswoman by becoming co-owner of sunscreen ‘Supergoop!’.
In 2021, investment management giant Blackstone acquired ‘Supergoop!’ for a staggering $750 million.
In her career as a businesswoman, Sharapova has invested in UBS Wealth Management, Tonal (a home gym system), Cofertility (a female-founded egg freezing startup), Wolf & Shepherd (men’s footwear), MoonPay (cryptocurrency wallet), Bala (weighted exercise bracelets), Therabody (wellness brand) and Public (investment platform) have been among her other investments.
The former tennis player is also an independent director of the Moncler Group, the owner of luxury outerwear brands Moncler and Stone Island.
Maria Sharapova’s business failures
But not everything has been a success in Maria Sharapova’s business career, as she suffered setbacks investing in Naked Retail (a store that sought to take direct-to-consumer brands to a physical location) or in Bright (a live video platform that connected fans and creators).
What happened to Sharapova’s luxury candy company that was once valued at $187 million?
The big mystery is what happened to Sugarpova, the candy line launched in 2012 by the former tennis player. She invested $500,000 in her high-end sweets, which she sold in 30 countries and with which she reached a turnover of 25 million.
Maria Sharapova joked about renaming herself Maria Sugarpova, but when her career on the court began to decline, so did her candy company, which was worth $187 million at its peak.
Since 2021 there has been no contact information for the brand, its website is down and in April 2024 the Sugarpova trademarks in the United States expired.
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