He may no longer be Britain's richest man, but Sir Jim Ratcliffe is still the world's richest Mancunian.
And with a personal fortune of around £11 billion, he can certainly afford to buy Manchester United
. Chance to buyAmerican Glazer family
, masters of the Premier League Eventually Sir Jim hopes to take over the entire club Yes, according to the club's current owner, it is said to be worth £5 billion.
He is so wealthy that he wouldn't need to borrow a penny to buy Manchester United, invest heavily in new players and modernize Old Trafford
And money a man thinks he is serious.
United's shares on the New York Stock Exchange surged 15% yesterday, taking him over £11 each.
Sirjim admitted in May that he had offered £4 billion to buy Chelsea but that he only made it. rice field.
As his 70th birthday approached, the joiner's son, who had grown up in a Manchester City Council mansion, decided that he could now have Trafford and the Red Devils, the present he had always dreamed of. I was.
Sports fanatic Sajjim lived up to the age of 10, Dunkerly in Failsworth, far from his avenue,Sarmatin his Busby, almost every other week. team in action.
In 1999, he was at Barcelona's Nou Kamp stadium as United won the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich
Sir Jim described it as "three minutes you will never forget".
So also for the man who has made a huge fortune from his 60% stake in a privately held chemical giant that always claims to be "the biggest company in the world you've never heard of." , there is something very valuable.
A total of 26,000 people work for his Ineos at over 194 sites in 29 countries.
His 60 million tons of chemicals produced each year are used in nearly everything we use, from antibiotics, toothpaste and clean water to insulation and food packaging. increase.
This means that Sir Jim can afford a luxurious house in Monaco, his £6 million waterfront mansion in Hampshire, and a home in Chelsea, West London. means With the idea of building a 4x4 to replace the Land Rover Defender
, he also built a giant on Lake Geneva in Switzerland near F1 Star . owns Michael Schumacher's home, and the 260-foot superyacht, Hampshire II.
Even if Sir Jim eventually buys Man United from the American Glazer Family, he already owns two football clubs, so stepping into the unknown. there is no.
In 2017, he acquired his FC Lausanne Sport in Switzerland. Last season they were relegated to his second division league in Switzerland.
And in 2019, Sir Jim plays in French Ligue 1 Nicewhich he won for just under £100 million.
He also spent £40 million to buy Sky's Tour de France-winning cycling team, and regularly named him the star of the Ineos Grenadiers. We are training together.
He has a stake in Mercedes' Formula 1 operation, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, participates in Sailing's Americas against his Cup sir. Ben He supports Ainsley's bid.
I was dismissed for mild eczema. I was told, "If you don't have eczema, you can't work here." After spending money on 5 years of training, I found out I have allergies, so I can't afford to ride my bike. '
Jim Ratcliffe
Surprisingly, Sir Jim has only amassed a spectacular fortune over the past 25 years.
Until then his life had been unremarkable.
He struggled in school due to his obsession with football, and entered college torecord his A-level grades,the worst among his college peers, and his was fired from his first job.
His success came as a complete surprise to him.
Sir Jim said: I really just played soccer. That's all I was interested in.
His father started his career as a carpenter and went on to run a factory that made furniture for scientific laboratories.
His mother worked as a secretary.
When his father got a new job and Jim enrolled in the local grammar school, the family moved to East He moved toBeverly, York. In his sixth form, he organized tours of local factories.
He said: That was in my head at 18 years old. But I was just dreaming, really.
He decided to study chemical engineering at the University of Birmingham.
But when he arrived at the Chemistry Department, a group of his students had gathered around a bulletin board, his 99 students in his course, ranked according to their A-level results. found reading the list of
Ratcliffe was embarrassed to find himself at the bottom.
He said: But I would say it was fair. There were a lot of people working hard in school while I was playing soccer.
Working for BP during the summer holidays, he was offered a full-time job but was laid off within three days.
He said: He was dismissed for mild eczema. "If you don't have eczema, you can't work here," he was told. We couldn't spend the money training you for five years, and then we found out you had allergies, so you're on the bike. ''
Being an apprentice accountant, he moved to his fabrics and chemicals company, Courtaulds, where he remained until he was in his thirties.
Attracted by the perks of a far superior car, his white BMW 535i, he ventured into his capital firm Advent, where he turned to international trader.
He said: I loved the car - it was better than the one the Courtaulds chairman had.
"The world of venture capital is very simple. If you make a bad deal, you get fired. If you don't make a deal, you get fired. There were a lot of opportunities, so I took the job. I always felt that something really good was going to come out.”
In 1992 he bought BP's specialty chemicals business for around £40m and two years later it was listed on the stock market. rice field.
However, Jim left the company in 1998.
He lived by then his ten-year marriage to his first wife Amanda Townsonand had two sons, George and Samuel. I got divorced.
He has a daughter with his second wife Alicia. He is currently believed to be with his current partner Katherine Polly.
His fortunes turned around when he acquired an Antwerp-based chemical business, and that was the beginning of Ineos.
I think I had a desire to be successful, to be a millionaire one day. That was in my head when I was 18.
Jim Ratcliffe
Jim and his new business partners, Andy Curry and John Reese, are in a slump He has become a master at discovering untapped potential in plants and factories.
Sir Jim said: We'll run them a little better and keep them busy and very profitable. ''
deals were getting bigger and by 2018 Jim's share of the business made him the richest person in the UK with his £21 billion fortune. A proponent of
Brexit and fracking, he wants Britain to manufacture more.
He said: In that case, every time he buys a product, he must first buy foreign exchange and find a country to sell it in. It's ridiculous - you end up with a fragile economy.
United's fans hope Sir Jim will come and help the club — they are at rock bottom losing both games It's over — business experts warn against getting too hopeful.
Glazers says United are worth £5 billion, but the club is worth much less on the stock market.
Sky TV Business his presenter Ian King said:
