SIR JIM RATCLIFFE is a chemical engineer and industry tycoon who has purchased a 25% stake in Manchester United.
Ratcliffe, who is one of the UK's richest men, is a huge football fan and is a boyhood supporter of the Red Devils.
Who is Jim Ratcliffe and what is his net worth?
Jim Ratcliffe is a fracking and chemicals entrepreneur who is the chairman and CEO of chemicals group Ineos.
The Brexit-backing businessman came from humble beginnings and was brought up in a council house near Manchester by his joiner dad and office manager mum.
He was born on October 18, 1952, as James Arthur Ratcliffe.
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Ratcliffe's first job was with oil giant Esso but he later went on to study for an MBA from London Business School and, in 1989, he joined US private equity group Advent International.
In May 2023 Ratcliffe surged to second in the Sunday Times Rich List with a reported net worth of £29billion.
When did he start Ineos?
Ratcliffe is the chairman and chief executive of the Ineos chemicals group, which he founded in 1998 from a small base in Hampshire.
Using high-yield debt to fund deals, he started buying unwanted operations from groups such as energy giant BP, picking targets based on their potential to double their earnings over a five year period.
In 2006, Ineos bought BP's refining and petrochemical arm Innovene, giving Ineos refineries and plants in Scotland, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium and Canada.
Then, in April 2010, Ratcliffe relocated Ineos' head office to Rolle in Switzerland, cutting the company's tax bill by £100million per year.
Ineos products are used every day to clean water, make toothpaste, manufacture antibiotics, insulate homes and package food.
The chemicals giant employs more than 18,500 people at 181 sites across 22 countries.
When was Jim Ratcliffe knighted?
Ratcliffe was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours list on June 2, 2018, receiving the honour for services to business and investment.
Other big names on the honours list that year included Kenny Dalglish and Emma Thompson.
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What sports teams does Jim Ratcliffe own and does he support Manchester United?
Boyhood Manchester United fan Ratcliffe revealed his interest in buying the Old Trafford club in January 2023 after the Red Devils were put up for sale by the US-based Glazer family.
Qatar's Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani was thought to have put in a £5billion bid for the team - short of the Glazers' £6billion valuation of the club.
In 2022 Sir Jim tried to buy United's Premier League rivals Chelsea after Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was forced to sell the West London club as part of sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
US investor Todd Boehly and his consortium took control of the Blues after Ratcliffe's bid was rejected.
Ineos already own French football club Nice, as well as Swiss side Lausanne and a third of F1 motor racing team Mercedes.
His Team Ineos cycling team has won seven editions of the annual Tour de France, boasting riders such as Sir Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas.
Does he have children?
Ratcliffe has two sons, called George and Samuel, with his first wife Amanda Townson, who he split from in 1995 after a ten-year marriage.
He went on to welcome a daughter, Julia, with his second wife, Italian tax lawyer Maria Alessia Maresca - also known as Alicia Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe reportedly wed Alicia in the late 1990s, before splitting up a few years later.
In 2020 Ratcliffe moved to tax haven Monaco, leaving behind his properties in Chelsea and Hampshire.
