Australian cricket great Shane Warne managed to rack up an estimated net worth of $50 million, with his stellar cricketing talent and irrepressible personality off field turning him into a prodigiously successful businessman with a ‘rock star’ like presence.
Before his sudden death shocked the world last weekend, Warne had created successful business ventures, earned lucrative product endorsements, acquired an impressive property portfolio and had multiple commentating commitments.
His most successful venture may prove to have been his ‘retirement’ job joining the Indian Premier League team the Rajasthan Royals and leaving with a stake in the franchise which was on its way to being worth $400 million.
Tributes are still pouring for the 52-year-old spin bowling king who died from a suspected heart attack while holidaying with mates on the Thai island of Koh Samui on Friday night.
After flipping his outrageous talent as a cricketing superstar turned commentator, business entrepreneur and professional poker player, he managed to use his status as an international sports hero to amass a fortune.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Warne’s fortune came from his successful playing career, poker playing, commentating and product endorsements.
But joining the Rajasthan Royals as coach/captain in 2008 and then leading them to victory in the inaugural tournament, may have been Warne’s master stroke.
He earned a $657,000 annual salary over four seasons, and left with a 3 per cent stake in the team.
In 2019, Warne said he hoped that in a few years the team might be worth $400 million, and that ‘three per cent of $400 million is all right’.
By July last year, the franchise was worth $340 million with Warne’s stake equalling around $10 million.
Cricket legend Shane Warne leaves behind a $50million fortune following his shock death
Away from cricket, Warne was just as busy, expanding his own gin company SevenZeroEight Gin (pictured)
Shane Warne (above) with Elizabeth Hurley and the Rajasthan Royals in the 2011 Indian Premier League which he owned a 3 per cent stake now worth more than $10m
Although his business ventures weren’t always successful – the company managing his underwear line Spinners went bankrupt in 2011 – he was full of ideas and always had a go.
In 2019, Warne founded a gin distillery named 708 Gin, produced in Western Australia. One of his tipples won the gold medal at the Australian Gin Awards that year.
In early 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Warne announced it would also produce alcohol-based hand sanitiser to help relieve critical shortage of the product.
In August 2020, Warne launched a fragrance called SW23, a mix of his initials and the number he wore playing cricket for Australia.
The $50 fragrance was described as ‘woody and boldly intense’ with notes including fresh bergamot, wild mint, Indonesian patchouli and leather accord.
Away from cricket, Warne had an 18-year partnership with Advanced Hair Studios, and an impressive property portfolio.
He bought, renovated and sold at least five homes in the trendy Melbourne bayside of Brighton over two decades.
He paid $5.4 million for a five-bedroom home in Brighton in early 2018, installed a nightclub with a wet bar and mirrored ceiling, plus 500-bottle wine cellar, tasting room and a gold-class home theatre.
He sold it in December 2020 for an undisclosed sum, and had plans to move to a luxury development in St Kilda, where penthouses cost between $9 m and $19m.
At one stage, Warne and his former partner Liz Hurley owned a 13 bedroom home in the UK that they extensively renovated.
His massive fortune was matched by his lavish lifestyle and expensive taste with a fleet of luxury cars which he often showed off on social media.
Shane Warne’s ‘retirement’ job, as coach/captain of the Indian Premier League’s Rajasthan Royals team (above) proved a massive earner with the franchise valued at least $340m last year
The cricket superstar (pictured Fox Sports commentator Sarah Jones) commentated both in Australia and the UK up until his death
Shane Warne has left behind a legacy of one of Australia’s most influential and popular sportsmen
Shane Warne had a series of product endorsement deals including a long relationship with Adannced Hair Studios (pictured getting hair growth treatment in 2016)
He remained heavily involved in cricket as a coach and commentator and split his time between Australia, the UK and India.
Warne commentated for Channel Nine for more than a decade until the network lost the broadcasting rights in 2018, when he made the switch to Fox Cricket, where he worked up until his death.
In the UK, he had been commentating for Sky Sports since 2009 on top of coaching commitments.
His massive fortune was matched by his lavish lifestyle and expensive taste with a fleet of luxury cars, which he often showed off on social media
SevenZeroEight Gin was launched in 2019, the name is a reference to the 708 test wickets that Warne took over his illustrious career
‘I’ve had some good feedback from women, they seem to like this,’ he told the Daily Telegraph at the time.
‘People will notice you wearing it and they will comment on how wonderful you smell.
‘It creates conversation and will make you feel happy, confident and sophisticated.’
Due to popular demand, he launched a second fragrance, SW23 Sport last September, which he described as ‘a little bit fresher and a bit lighter’ than his original scent.
‘It’s a sport version, so it’s a bit lighter and a bit fresher than the first one,’ he said.
‘It’s got mandarin spritzes, it’s a bit spicy, it’s got dry iris and a tonka bean.’
‘SW23 was so popular we thought, geez, let’s do another. Everyone loved it and kept asking when there was going to be another fragrance. That makes you pretty proud when people love it.’
Shane Warne unveiled two fragrances within 12 months, SW23 and SW23 Sport
Warne was renowned for undertaking huge renovation projects on some of the houses he purchased, before later reselling.
Warne has made a number of property plays in the Melbourne bayside suburb of Brighton over the years.
In one case buying and selling a huge bluestone mansion twice between 2001 and 2018, earning $18,888,888 for the pad.
Another bought $3.7 million in 2007 sold for $6.7 million two years later. He made a similar profit on another bought $7.5 million which sold for $10.8 million four years later.
The late cricketer took on huge renovation projects on some of the houses he purchased, before later reselling, including this Brighton property which sold in December 2020
One of Warne’s previous properties which sold in Brighton in December 2020 included a well-stocked bar area with plush seats and a high-end nightclub feel (pictured)
Two properties notably have a giant number 23 painted on the bottom of each home’s swimming pool, visible on Google Earth.
The obsession with the number for Warne, whose management company was called 23Red, was due to his love of footy legend and AFL Hall of Fame star Dermot Brereton, who wore number 23 when playing for Hawthorn.
Warne wore the number 23 when he bgegan playing cricket for Australia.
In December 2020, he offloaded one of his sprawling Brighton mansions for an undisclosed sum after it was passed in at a private auction at $5.65million weeks earlier.
The father-of-three had hoped to net between $5.8 million to $6.38million for the home, which he bought for $5.4million in 2018.
The home featured five-bedrooms, five-bathrooms, a well-stocked bar area with plush seats and a high-end nightclub feel.
A wine cellar with an adjacent living space for relaxing and hosting guests added to the upmarket feel of the property.
Real estate agent Jonathan Dixon from JP Dixon described the home at the time as ‘the total package’.
‘Everyone thinks he just buys houses to turn them over, but that’s not correct. If you follow his lifestyle, it changes so often,’ he told realestate.com.au.
In 2020, Warne listed this house, which has five bedrooms and three bathrooms, a large swimming pool and spa, a basement theatre, a bar, and an underground garage with space for four cars
He bought the property in the affluent beachside suburb of Brighton, in Melbourne, back in 2018 for $5.4 million
Warne also has an apartment in the $540 million dollar Saint Moritz complex in St Kilda, which he is said to have purchased in 2018 for $5.4million.
More recently, Warne had submitted plans to build a $5m resort-style retreat on a block he bought for $3.6m in Portsea on Melbourne’s outskirts, a playground for established families, business titans, entrepreneurs and sporting greats.
Plans submitted to the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council on Warne’s behalf which were set to include a gym, theatre, games room, library, bowling alley, jet ski garage, wine cellar and observation deck, the Herald Sun reported last August.
Other proposed features included a master bedroom equipped with an ensuite, dressing area and walk in robe, two other bedrooms and a four bedroom guest wing built around a pool and complete with a music room, alfresco bar and separate alfresco barbecue area.
Warne reportedly purchased the Mornington Peninsula property in October (pictured) last year for $3.6million
Warne opened up on his obsession with luxury cars during his appearance on ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ in 2016.
‘I got obsessed with cars, expensive Ferraris, Lamborghinis. I had a 20-car basement garage,’ he gloated to his campmates.
‘I had the F type Jag[uar], which only had two seats – I couldn’t put in my clubs, couldn’t take anyone. I thought it was time to get a different car.’
‘A mate had one and I thought, ‘I could leave that in my garage’. If my mates go [to London], they have a car there,’ he added.
His massive fortune was matched by his lavish lifestyle and expensive taste with a fleet of luxury cars to his name
Warne opened up on his obsession with luxury cars during his appearance on ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ in 2016
Warne also spoke on the show about the 13-room house Donnington Hall, which he renovated with Hurley.
‘It’s a four poster 10ft by 10ft (bed),’ he said, noting they needed custom-made sheets to fit the mattress.
‘I love big beds, I just love spreading out,’ he told Akmal when asked why he needed such a giant bed.
A state funeral for Warne will be held in Melbourne, with a date to be confirmed in the coming days.
Plans will be held in consultation with his family, Cricket Australia and the Victorian Government ‘to ensure it honours Shane’s passing and memory’.
The Victorian government has also announced the Great Southern Stand at the MCG will be renamed the S.K. Warne Stand.
Warne’s body has been removed from the local mortuary in Koh Samui and is undergoing an autopsy in a city in southern Thailand to confirm his cause of death.
Once the autopsy is complete, his remains will be returned to Australia. It is expected the process will be complete by Tuesday.
Warne previously renovated a 13 bedroom UK home with his former partner and actress Liz Hurley
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
