Sir Jim Ratcliffe likes to maintain busy. As a reward for working a seven-day week at his €40 billion ($52 billion) petrochemical empire Ineos, the British billionaire treats himself to a flurry of facet initiatives, from proudly owning a London pub and a soccer membership to embarking on an actual property splurge within the remotest elements of Iceland.
The 71-year-old is among the many richest individuals within the U.Okay., with a internet value estimated at £23.5 billion, in accordance with the newest Sunday Instances Wealthy Listing.
What do you do with all that wealth? For Ratcliffe, the reply seems to be residing out every of his childhood fantasies.
Ratcliffe’s hobbies
The petrochemicals billionaire has a unusual, eclectic mixture of ventures, straddling his passions for sports activities, vehicles, fishing, and ingesting.
Ratcliffe was a daily within the Grenadier pub, nestled down a sidestreet within the prosperous London neighborhood of Knightsbridge.
It was over a pint in that pub that Ratcliffe determined to reignite the Land Rover Discovery, naming the soon-to-be-released mannequin the Grenadier after his beloved watering gap.
He purchased the pub in 2022.
Kiran Ridley—Getty Photos
His most high-profile facet passion, although, was his buy of a minority share in Manchester United final yr, which might see him and his group take over soccer operations on the membership.
From his earlier sports activities initiatives, equivalent to his possession of the massively profitable biking group Ineos Grenadier and soccer membership Good and his professed lifetime help of the membership, Ratcliffe pitched himself as the best man to assist flip round Manchester United’s fortunes.
Ratcliffe has already overhauled Manchester United’s footballing facet, putting in a brand new CEO, Omar Barrada, and poaching new sporting director Dan Ashworth from rivals Newcastle United.
He has additionally quietly purchased up 400,000 acres of land in Iceland, the place he likes to go fishing.
When requested by The Instances if anybody owned extra territory than him within the nation, Ratcliffe replied: “Presumably the church?”
“All of the depth of on a regular basis life the place the whole lot is roofed in concrete or tarmac and also you’re umbilically connected to your iPhone disappears in a short time on this atmosphere,” Ratcliffe informed the publication. “It is going to be good for my longevity, I hope.”
Legacy constructing
Taking a look at Ratcliffe’s investments and judging by his feedback, it’s straightforward to conclude his purchases are merely the costly trappings of a billionaire designed to assist him escape the intensities of working a significant world firm.
That’s clearly part of it, says Liz Colfer, affiliate director and chartered monetary planner at wealth administration enterprise 5 Wealth.
“Whenever you’ve been working the corporate for so long as he has, you’ve form of ticked that field to a sure extent. After which it’s interested by what what different issues are you able to get your self concerned in, and what else you are able to do,” Colfer informed Fortune.
“If you happen to’ve acquired that mindset, to a sure extent it’s by no means happy. There’s all the time one thing else. You’re all the time considering of one other concept.”
Ratcliffe has usually used private anecdotes to construct momentum for his purchases, hardly ever citing the potential for monetary acquire.
Earlier than shopping for a hefty stake in Man United, Ratcliffe spoke about supporting the membership whereas he grew up within the Manchester city of Failsworth, situated round seven miles from the Previous Trafford stadium.
Nonetheless, lurking beneath this achievement of childhood desires is probably going a extra tactical motivation.
Whereas nonetheless sprightly at 71, having accomplished the London Marathon in Might in simply over 4 hours and half-hour, Ratcliffe will probably be thoughtful of his legacy together with his jaw-dropping purchases.
Regardless of his large internet value, Ratcliffe was a peripheral determine exterior the enterprise world throughout a lot of his time on the helm of Ineos.
Nonetheless, his buy of a minority share in Man United has thrust him to family identify standing, and, save for just a few rival followers, for good causes.
Michael Regan—The FA/Getty Photos
Taking on a membership that was in disarray earlier than his buy, with a fan base rising more and more indignant on the membership’s majority proprietor, the Glazer household, offers Ratcliffe the prospect to be considered as a savior.
Ratcliffe’s Ineos shadow
After constructing his internet value on a petrochemicals large whose crops have confronted authorized motion from environmental teams, Ratcliffe’s legacy is much from assured because the planet turns away from polluting fossil fuels as the results of local weather change change into much more obvious.
His new 4×4 Grenadier will run on hydrogen, appearing because the poster youngster for Ineos’s renewables arm. Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of its income nonetheless comes from its petrochemicals enterprise.
In July, Ineos pulled plans for an electrical SUV named the Fusilier, citing weak demand and the U.Okay. authorities for “business uncertainty over tariffs, timings and taxation.”
Hollie Adams/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos
His shopping for of land in Iceland might additionally pave the way in which for greener initiatives, says Jessica Crane, a wealth and enterprise coach.
“Investing in such an attractive location not solely presents potential for worth enhance but additionally opens doorways for ecotourism and renewable power initiatives.”
It’s as but unclear, although, how historical past will decide Ratcliffe’s makes an attempt at a later-life rebrand.
“The origins of 1’s wealth – and society’s responses to it – usually affect a wealth holder’s method to it, and proudly owning this narrative is vital in making certain they are on the front-foot and in charge of their repute and legacy,” Matthew Braithwaite, a associate at London legislation agency Wedlake Bell, informed Fortune. “Ratcliffe’s buy of the land in Iceland seems a nod to this obligation, serving to to counter the environmental influence of INEOS and the origins of his wealth.”
Whether or not his efforts will probably be sufficient, 5 Wealth’s Colfer says, is “fascinating.”
Ratcliffe is reportedly eyeing a brand new 100,000-seater stadium to exchange Manchester United’s iconic Previous Trafford, a construction that can final lengthy after he’s gone.
If he may help oversee Manchester United’s first Premier League title since 2013 or its first Champions League since 2008, his identify will even doubtless don the brand new stadium’s halls for generations to return.
A consultant for Ineos didn’t reply to a request for remark.
