Mickey Drexler, Former Gap CEO and Founder of Old Navy, Has an Impressive Net Worth
Following an illustrious career as the CEO of Gap and then J. Crew, Mickey Drexler has a solid net worth. How did he make millions?
April 20 2023, Updated 11:29 a.m. ET
As the former CEO of Gap Inc. and then J. Crew Group, Millard “Mickey” Drexler has amassed a multimillion-dollar net worth. The longtime corporate executive might have had more than double that amount if he had hung on to large sums of Apple share grants instead of selling them.
Drexler is credited with increasing the popularity of both J. Crew and Gap during his time with the companies.
While Drexler is best known for his roles at Gap and J. Crew, one little fact that often slips through the cracks is that Drexler founded the Old Navy brand. To keep up with his competitor, Dayton Hudson Corp., the previous owner of Target, Drexler launched Old Navy in 1994, naming it after a café and bar in Paris, Business Insider notes.
So, how rich is the man behind the brand that offers affordable flip-flops (you remember those $1 sandal sales) and graphic tees? Read on to find out.
Mickey Drexler
Businessman, CEO
Net worth: $200 million
Millard "Mickey" Drexler gained wealth and notoriety for his work on the Gap brand, often credited with helping to spearhead the Gap's rise through the 1990s. After 2002, when Gap founder Donald Fisher forced him to vacate the CEO position, he was soon hired on as the CEO at J. Crew. During Drexler's time at J. Crew, he helped position the retailer as an upscale boutique until sales dropped and he stepped down in 2017. He currently leads his son's clothing company, Alex Mill.
Birthdate: Aug. 17, 1944
Education: MBA from Boston University
Spouse: Peggy Drexler
Kids: 1 (Alex Drexler)
Mickey Drexler's career focuses on retail.
Drexler has had a long and successful career in retail, particularly with reviving struggling clothing brands. He worked in merchandising for Abraham & Straus in New York, in addition to stints working at Ann Taylor, Bloomingdale's, and Macy's. He became the CEO of Ann Taylor at age 36 in 1980. Business Insider reported that he took that retailer from 25 unprofitable stores to 55 profitable stores.
As CEO of Gap Inc. during the 1990s, Drexler pushed the brand into 1990s pop culture and promoted a casual style. He got rid of Levi and other non-Gap brands and focused on khakis and casual wear. Drexler brought the company from $480 million to $13.6 billion in sales over 20 years.
Despite being let go from Gap in 2002, possibly due to declining stock value, Drexler moved on quickly to J. Crew and grew that company from $700 million to $1.7 billion in revenue in less than a decade.
Now in his 70s, Drexler is taking on the role of CEO again, this time for his son Alex Drexler's menswear firm, Alex Mill. The elder Drexler is the largest shareholder in that company as well. According to The Wall Street Journal, Drexler said in July 2021 that he never wants to retire.
Alex Drexler (left), fashion designer Somsack Sikhounmuong (middle), Mickey Drexler (right)
Drexler acknowledged that he could have been more sensitive to his son in the early years of his company. He said, "I should have been a business associate second and a father first." At Alex Mill, Drexler focuses more on products and customer experience, while his son Alex has more expertise in social media and marketing.
From it all, Mickey Drexler has a net worth of $200 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Mickey Drexler and his wife own several homes.
Drexler has been married to his wife Peggy since 1969. The couple has made several significant real estate investments, with a home in the Hamptons they sold for $50 million in 2015.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the Drexlers also bought two neighboring waterfront properties in Miami Beach in 2017. One of those was reportedly owned by Calvin Klein, and the total for both properties was $26 million. The couple added a $16.5 million third property adjacent to the first two in August 2021.
