Alexander Gilkes

Early life Gilkes is the son of Jeremy Gilkes, a dermatologist, and was born and raised in London. He was educated at Eton College and at the University of Bristol. He served as an auctioneer at Phillips de Pury & Company and worked at LVMH. Gilkes presided as an auctioneer for auctions including Madonna's Raising Malawi, Elton John AIDS Foundation, and amFAR.

In 2011, he founded Paddle8, an online auction website selling fine art, photography, street art and collectibles. In 2013, the company did $US20 million in sales. By 2015, the company reported "$US140 million" in sales. Paddle8 was sold in 2015 to The Native. Gilkes stepped down from his role at Paddle8 in 2018.

In 2020, Gilkes co-founded venture studio Squared Circles along with Lukas Derksen and Paddle8 co-founder Osman Khan.

Gilkes "has been named" as one of Fast Company's Most Creative Entrepreneurs in 2017, the 100 Most Powerful People in the Art World (Art + Auction) in 2014, 2015 and 2016, a Digital Maverick (DETAILS), one of the 40 Most Important People Under 40 (Apollo) and appeared on Vanity Fair and GQ's best-dressed lists. He serves on the board of the New York Academy of Art.

Personal life Gilkes married British-Bahraini fashion designer Misha Nonoo in Venice, Italy in May 2012 and the pair lived in New York City. Their divorce was finalized in the summer of 2017.

Since 2018, Gilkes has been in a relationship with Russian former tennis player Maria Sharapova. They announced their engagement on 17 December 2020. Their son was born on 1 July 2022.