Who is Sir Jim Ratcliffe?
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, born Sir James Arthur Ratcliffe is an English billionaire, businessman, and chemical engineer. Sir Jim is currently serving as the chairman and the chief executive officer of the INEOS chemical group. He founded the company in 1998 and now owns two-thirds of the company.
The Failsworth, Greater Manchester native began his earning journey back in the mid-1970s working with Esso, an oil company. During his tenure at Esso, Sir Jim decided to take his finance skills to another level and went back to school to study an MSc in Finance, graduating in 1980.
Before establishing INEOS in 1998, Sir Jim co-founded another chemical firm, Inspec which he later purchased. He grew the company and in 2010 he moved the company’s headquarters from Hampshire to Rolle Switzerland with an aim of reducing the company tax.
Sir Jim has managed to grow his company from a small business enterprise to a multi-billion business empire. In 2021 the company is reported to have had a turnover of $65 billion 2021. Currently, INEOS is one the biggest chemical firms in the world.
Read Also: Todd Boehly Worth, Businesses, Lakers Shares and Family
Sports Ventures
Buying Manchester United
Read Also: Who are The Glazer Family? Meet The Family Behind Manchester United Ownership.
As a sports enthusiast and Manchester United fan, Sir Jim has always wanted to invest in a Premier League club. In 2022, he was among the bidders who were ready to take over Chelsea from Roman Abramovich but his £4.25bn offer was declined and Todd Boehly ended up winning the bid.
After the Chelsea deal failed, Sir Jim is now ready to try his luck again but this time around with Manchester United which is up for sale. Manchester United’s owner, the Glazer family has declared their intention to sell the club after running it for 17 years.
The Glazer family announced they were open for offers in November 2022 and Sir Jim is the first bidder who has already declared his intention of buying the club. However, the initial bid of how much he is willing to invest has not yet been disclosed.
A while back Sir Jim’s opinion on Premier League clubs was a bit different as he once cited that the clubs were overvalued and he couldn’t invest billions of pounds in a Premier League club. However, this seems to have changed as he went on to place a £4.25bn bid for Chelsea and he might even bid more for Manchester United.
Manchester United owners have not been on good terms with their fans since they took over and that might be the first reason for them to sell the club. According to the reports, Manchester United might have a new owner before the end of the season.
Read Also: Who is the Owner of Everton, Farhad Moshiri? Age, Business, Family, and Net Worth.
Club Ownership
Aside from his interest to invest in a premier league club, the English billionaire owns numerous clubs in different leagues. Sir Jim is the owner of Lausanne-Sports, a Swiss Super League that he took over in November 2017.
On top of that, he’s also the owner of Ligue 1 club, Nice which he acquired in 2019 for €100m. He’s also the founder of the INEOS Grenadiers, a cycling franchise.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe Net Worth
As of 2018, Sir Jim was termed the richest man in the UK with an estimated bet worth of £21.05 billion. By 2020 his net worth had increased to $28.2 billion, becoming the 55th reachest man in the World.
Family
Sir Jim has three children from his two previous engagements, two sons from his former wife, and a daughter from his previous relationship with Maria Alessia Maresca, an Italian tax lawyer.