Sir Jim Ratcliffe could soon become the next owner of Manchester United.
After months of speculation, it’s now official that Ratcliffe’s company Ineos has entered the race to buy the club from the Glazer family.
We’ve broken down everything you need to know about the billionaire investor.
How rich is Sir Jim Ratcliffe?
Incredibly rich.
When he received a knighthood in the 2018 Birthday Honours, Ratcliffe was anointed Britain’s richest man, although since then he has fallen down the rankings.
Ratcliffe’s personal wealth is estimated at somewhere between £11billion (Forbes) and £6billion (Sunday Times). In the latest edition of the Sunday Times Rich List, Ratcliffe was named the 27th wealthiest person in the UK.
He made his wealth through founding petrochemicals firm Ineos, which has 194 sites across 29 countries, generating sales estimated to be around £50billion. The company employs more than 26,000 people.
Asking Sir Jim Ratcliffe about the possibility of buying Manchester Utd last year – when Britain’s richest man bid for Chelsea ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/r8rzOJGQCo
— Dan Roan (@danroan) January 17, 2023
What happened to Ratcliffe’s Chelsea bid?
Ratcliffe – eventually – entered the race to buy Chelsea when it was put up for sale by Roman Abramovich last season. He reportedly offered £2.5billion and promised to invest £1.75billion across the first 10 years.
He submitted a bid two weeks after the deadline, but by then Todd Boehly’s consortium had already been granted preferred bidder status.
“We’ve had an email to say: ‘Forget it, you’re not in the process,’” Tom Crotty, Ineos’ director of communications and corporate affairs told The Telegraph.
It was a case of too little too late for Ineos, with Boehly’s bid the one that went through.
Does Sir Jim Ratcliffe actually support Man Utd?
It sounds too good to be true but it seems as though his story is a genuine one.
Ratcliffe grew up in a council estate in Failsworth, Greater Manchester as the son of a joiner and office worker.
“I’m a lifelong Manchester United fan. I was there in that most remarkable match in 1999 in Barcelona. That is deeply etched in my mind,” Ratcliffe told the Financial Times in October.
The 70-year-old seems to have a genuine passion for sport, with Ineos owning three football clubs, the Grenadiers cycling team and a stake in the Mercedes F1 team.
How serious is Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s bid?
Difficult to say just yet.
But you…
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