Sir Jim Ratcliffe has become the second-richest person in the United Kingdom as he plots to buy Manchester United after months of negotiations.
The Manchester-born mogul rose a whopping 27 places in the rankings, making him the highest climber compared to 2022, and is now worth almost £30billion thanks to his petrochemical company, INEOS. Ratcliffe, 70, plans to purchase a majority stake in United for around £5billion before fully ousting the Glazer family by 2026.
The Sunday Times' annual rich list notes that the Briton's fortune has skyrocketed by a staggering £23.6bn since last year, with his net worth now estimated to be £29.6bn, an increase of nearly 400 percent. Much of the past 12 months has seen Ratcliffe battle Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani for the keys to Old Trafford, a race which he's confident of winning.
Ratcliffe's feat is made even more impressive by the fact the number of billionaires in the UK has decreased for the first time since the 2007-08 financial crash. There are six fewer billionaires compared to last year, with list topped for a fifth time by Gopi Hinduja, chairman of Indian transnational conglomerate Hinduja Group, and his family.
They have nearly £35bn to their name, up £6.5bn, the largest ever amount recorded in the 35-year history of the Sunday Times' rankings. Ratcliffe, who was born in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, topped the rich list back in 2018 when his personal wealth was estimated at just over £21bn.
The INEOS founder and chief executive is heavily involved in sport, with the chemical giants being the principal partner for F1 team Mercedes-AMG and INEOS Grenadiers competing in British cycling. Ratcliffe and co also own French side Nice and Swiss club Lausanne.
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The sporting team at INEOS, which includes former British cycling chief Sir David Brailsford, visited Old Trafford in March to hold in-depth talks with United but were still made to submit a third bid last month, just as Sheikh Jassim did. The club hierarchy harbour reservations about the Qatari bid, while Ratcliffe's offer allows brothers Joel and Avram Glazer to remain involved with United through minority shares which they'll be obliged to sell in three years' time.
US merchant bank Raine are in leading the process and are set to recommend Ratcliffe as the preferred bidder to the Glazers. The 70-year-old tried to buy Premier League rivals Chelsea a year ago before United were put on the market last November.
Sunday Times' UK rich list top 10:
- Gopi Hinduja and family (industry and finance) £35bn
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe (INEOS) £29.6bn
- Sir Leonard Blavatnik (Warner Music, DAZN streamer) £28.6bn
- David and Simon Reuben and family (property and internet) £24.3bn
- Sir James Dyson and family (Dyson Group) £23bn
- Lakshmi Mittal and family (ArcelorMittal) £16bn
- Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family (Primark) £14.5bn
- Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho (brewing) £13bn
- Kirsten and Jom Rausing (inheritance and investment) £12bn
- Michael Platt (BlueCrest Capital hedge fund) £11.5bn
