Sir Jim Ratcliffe Biography
Born on October 18, 1952, Sir James Arthur Ratcliffe FIChemE is a British businessman, chemical engineer, and millionaire. Ratcliffe launched the INEOS chemicals group in 1998, and he currently serves as its chairman and CEO. An estimated $65 billion in revenue was generated by the corporation in 2021. In the past, The Sunday Times called him “publicity shy” due to his low public profile.
With a net worth of £21.05 billion in May 2018, Ratcliffe was the richest person in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times Rich List 2023 pegged his net worth at £29.688 billion as of May 2023, placing him as the second richest person in the United Kingdom. Ratcliffe formally moved from Hampshire to Monaco in September 2020, which is expected to result in a £4 billion tax savings for him.
About James Ratcliffe
James Ratcliffe, a former chemical engineer, founded, chairs, and owns a significant stake in the chemical behemoth Ineos Group.
This London-based corporation manufactures everything from plastics and synthetic oils to the solvents needed to synthesize medicines and insulin.
It has grown to be one of the biggest companies in the UK shale industry. The first “Dragon Ships” measuring 600 feet were used to deliver American natural gas to Europe.
In order to spearhead the purchase of a BP chemicals company in 1992, Ratcliffe took out a mortgage on his home. Six years later, he acquired a plant from that company to form Ineos.
In 2021, BP sold two of its chemical operations to Ineos for $5 billion. In 2022, it and Sinopec established petrochemical joint ventures valued at about $7 billion.
Chesapeake Energy sold $1.4 billion in onshore oil and gas assets in the United States to Ineos in 2023.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Early life and education
Ratcliffe was born in Failsworth, Lancashire, which is now part of Greater Manchester. His mother worked in an accounts office, while his father was a joiner by trade. Up to the age of ten, he was reared in a council house in the town before the family relocated to East Yorkshire. Beverley Grammar School was his school. He completed his chemical engineering studies at Birmingham University, where he earned a BSc. In 1980, London Business School awarded him an MBA. In due course, Ratcliffe’s father managed a factory that produced laboratory furniture.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe Net Worth
With his estimated net worth of $20.3 billion, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the second richest British citizen. He is the creator, chairman, and largest shareholder of the London-based multinational chemicals giant Ineos Group.
The world’s largest producer of ethylene oxide, an essential ingredient in the creation of plastics, is Ineos. Ineos also produces a wide range of additional chemicals, including vinyl chloride monomer, sodium hydroxide, and chlorine.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Career
Ratcliffe began his career with the oil firm Esso, but he chose to expand into the financial industry by studying management accounting. From 1978 to 1980, he attended London Business School to earn an MBA (in 2016 he gave £25 million to the school). He joined the US private equity firm Advent International in 1989.
INEOS
Ratcliffe co-founded Inspec, a company that leased the Antwerp, Belgium, location of the former BP Chemicals. Ratcliffe established INEOS in Hampshire in 1998 in order to acquire Inspec and the freehold of the Antwerp location.
Ratcliffe began purchasing undesirable activities from companies like ICI and BP with this modest foundation, financing acquisitions with high-yield loans. He chose targets based on their likelihood of doubling earnings over a five-year period. Scotland, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, and Canada became the home of INEOS refineries and factories after the company acquired BP’s refining and petrochemical division, Innovene, in 2006.
Ratcliffe relocated INEOS’s head office from Hampshire to Rolle, Switzerland in April 2010, which resulted in a £100 million annual tax reduction for the company.
Ratcliffe declared that he was “very cheerful about coming back to the UK” when he inaugurated the chemicals and energy group’s UK headquarters in Knightsbridge, London, in 2015. The opening also included gas and oil trading, among other functions. He was not concerned about Brexit and was happy with UK policies and London as a commercial base. EBITDA for the entire year of 2015 was €577 million, up from €253 million in 2014.
With a net worth of £21.05 billion, he was included as the richest individual in the UK on the Sunday Times Rich List 2018.
The UK oil and chemical sectors received a boost in February 2019 when it was revealed that INEOS would invest £1 billion in them. Part of this investment would go toward renovating the Forties pipeline system, which carries a large portion of the UK’s North Sea oil and gas.
Ratcliffe called the government “pathetic” on May 1, 2019, and criticized the present regulations that require fracking in Britain to be stopped whenever a 0.5 magnitude earthquake is detected, effectively outlawing the practice.
Ratcliffe started Ineos Automotive Ltd. with the intention of creating a substitute for his Land Rover Defender. After the cancellation of the original model, he made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the tooling needed to resume manufacturing from Jaguar Land Rover. Rather, Ratcliffe partnered with Magna Steyr and BMW in 2019 to design and construct a vehicle identical to the one that was formerly known as Projekt Grenadier.
Energy transition
Ratcliffe declared in October 2021 that he will devote over €2 billion (£1.7 billion) to electrolysis projects in order to produce green hydrogen with no carbon footprint throughout Europe. According to him, the first units would use renewable energy to power the electrolysis of water in Norway to make clean hydrogen, and they will act as a center for the supply of gas needed by the nation’s transportation sector. Belgium and Germany initiatives will come after this. In addition, Ratcliffe plans to make investments in the UK and France, where his hydrogen company will have its headquarters.
Environmental pollution
INEOS announced in March 2019 that it would shut down its Middlesbrough manufacturing facility unless it was granted permission to “defer compliance” with EU regulations intended to stop contamination of the air and water. According to an examination of data from the Environmental Agency (EA), the facility registered 176 infractions of its permits from 2014 to 2017. “Air emissions are well over legal limits and this poses a risk to the environment,” an EA official stated. Director of INEOS Tom Crotty stated that the company “cannot justify” the expenditure needed to adhere to EU regulations on air and water pollution, which are set to take effect in the near future.
INEOS has experimented with small-scale bioethanol production projects utilizing Clostridium bacteria, but their efforts have been hindered by the high hydrogen cyanide levels in the syngas, which prevent the bacteria from surviving. In 2017, INEOS sold Alliance Bio-Products Inc. the Florida factory.
Sport
Sport is Ratcliffe’s passion. In 2013, he finished the Sahara Desert Marathon Des Sables. He also started a charity called “Go Run for Fun” to encourage thousands of kids between the ages of five and ten to be active by organizing events with celebrity support. He backed Eliud Kipchoge’s successful attempt to complete the traditional marathon distance (42.195 kilometers, or 26 miles and 385 yards) in under two hours in the 2019 INEOS 1:59 Challenge. To assist impoverished youngsters in learning to ski, the Jim Ratcliffe Foundation, a different charity, contributed to the construction of a new ski clubhouse in Courchevel.
In 2017, he acquired FC Lausanne-Sport, a football team competing in the Swiss Super League. He acquired OGC Nice in 2019 from Chinese-American businessman Chien Lee via INEOS.
Sanctions imposed on Roman Abramovich, the longtime owner of Chelsea F.C. in the Premier League, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, compelled him to list the team for sale. Ratcliffe offered £4.25 billion to purchase the team, but his offer was turned down. Eventually, American investor Todd Boehly purchased Chelsea FC.
Ratcliffe, who has supported Manchester United in the Premier League since he was a little boy, indicated interest in purchasing the team in August 2022. Following the announcement by the present owners that they were seeking new investors, INEOS made a public announcement in January of the following year announcing that it had officially entered the bidding process for Manchester United.
In sailing, Ratcliffe and Ben Ainslie formed INEOS Team UK in 2021 to compete in the 36th America’s Cup; Ratcliffe is said to have invested more than £110 million in the venture.
In 2019, Ratcliffe bought the cycling team Team Sky, which he later renamed Team INEOS. 38 The 2019 Tour de Yorkshire marked their first competitive event with the new INEOS support. The Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal helped them win the 2019 Tour de France and the 2021 Giro d’Italia.
With a five-year contract, INEOS joined Mercedes AMG F1 as a major partner in 2020.
Greenpeace denounced New Zealand Rugby’s 2021 decision to accept INEOS’s six-year sponsorship as being at odds with the nation’s “clean green” ideals.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe Honours and awards
The Institution of Chemical Engineers awarded Ratcliffe an honorary fellowship in May 2009, praising “his sustained leadership in building the INEOS Group.” He was granted the Petrochemical Heritage Award in 2013. In the 2018 Birthday Honours, Ratcliffe received the Knight Bachelor title for his contributions to investment and business.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Personal Life
Ratcliffe’s first wife, Amanda Townson, gave birth to two kids. He was previously involved with Italian tax attorney Maria Alessia Maresca, with whom he had a daughter.
Ratcliffe resides in Hampshire, England, and Monaco. He filed his fifth plan, which was less ambitious than the previous four, in May 2017 with the intention of replacing an existing two-bedroom bungalow at Thorns Beach, near Beaulieu, on the Hampshire coast with a “luxury home”. Ratcliffe formally moved from Hampshire to Monaco in September 2020, a move that is expected to result in a £4 billion tax savings for him. He is the owner of the hotels Lime Wood (Hampshire, England) and Le Portetta (Courchevel, France), as well as an estate on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
Ratcliffe is an avid sports fan and outdoors enthusiast who has supported Manchester United his entire life. In addition to three months of motorcycling touring in South Africa, he has completed trips to both the North and South Poles. He started the charity “Go Run for Fun” in 2013, after finishing the 2013 Marathon Des Sables across the Sahara Desert. Through the organization of celebrity-driven events, the foundation encourages thousands of youngsters between the ages of five and ten to get active.
To assist impoverished youngsters in learning to ski, the Jim Ratcliffe Foundation, a different charity, contributed to the construction of a new ski clubhouse in Courchevel. Following a contribution to a private ski resort, the Charity Commission for England and Wales has initiated an investigation into this charity due to concerns about regulatory compliance.
One of the anti-European quotes from Ratcliffe is “As a business, INEOS supported the common market, but not the United States of Europe.” He believes that the “layers and layers” of European regulations are adding to the complexity and inefficiency of European economies, and he is against them. He has openly shown his contempt for lawmakers, attacking them for the manner they crafted the Brexit departure deal and for frequently being content to “lunch around with bankers” but less inclined to talk about economic matters with manufacturers and company owners.
Hampshire and Hampshire II are the two super yachts that Ratcliffe has owned. Feadship built his first yacht, Barbara Jean. He still owns the 78-meter (256-foot) Feadship Hampshire II, which was delivered in 2012. It was constructed by Royal Van Lent.
How did Jim Ratcliffe become a billionaire?
Although opinions on Sir Jim’s exact net worth differ, he has amassed a sizable fortune by purchasing and revitalizing abandoned portions of other companies. Forbes estimates it to be roughly $18 billion (£15.8 billion), whereas the Sunday Times Rich List, which places him as the second richest person in the UK, estimates it to be more like £30 billion.
Does Jim Ratcliffe have children?
private life. Ratcliffe’s first wife, Amanda Townson, gave birth to two kids. He was previously involved with an Italian tax lawyer named Maria Alessia Maresca, with whom he had a daughter. Ratcliffe resides in Hampshire, England, and Monaco.
How much money has Jim Ratcliffe got?
As per the Sunday Times Rich List, Ratcliffe, who holds the positions of chairman and CEO of the chemicals company INEOS, possesses a net worth of approximately £29.3 billion. The 70-year-old has a history of owning football teams because his business currently owns FC Lausanne in Switzerland and Nice in Ligue 1.-Activities
Does Sir Jim Ratcliffe own a football club?
The football team Manchester United will see a 25% ownership purchase from British businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe. As part of the agreement to buy 25%, which may be the start of a phased takeover, Sir Jim and his business INEOS are anticipated to oversee Manchester United’s football activities, according to Sky Sports News.
Who is the billionaire to buy Manchester United?
Nov. 17 (Reuters) – The American Glazer family, who owns Manchester United (MANU.N), is expected to close a $33 per share agreement with Jim Ratcliffe, allowing the British billionaire to purchase a 25% share in the English soccer team, according to a story published on Sky News on Friday.
Who owns INEOS cars?
To replace its off-roader Grenadier, Ineos Automotive, the automaker controlled by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the richest billionaire in Britain and a potential Manchester United owner, has planned several new model names.
What football team does Jim Ratcliffe support?
Raised as a Manchester United supporter, Ratcliffe has spent the last five years working with his chemicals firm, Ineos, to sponsor and own a number of sporting teams in a variety of sports.
What nationality is Sir Jim Ratcliffe?
a biography. In Manchester, England, on October 18, 1952, James Arthur Ratcliffe was born, according to documents filed with the UK’s Companies House.
