Jim Ratcliffe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jim Ratcliffe
FIChemE
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Ratcliffe in 2013
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James Arthur Ratcliffe
18 October 1952 Failsworth, England
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| Occupation | Chairman, CEO and founder of INEOS |
| Spouse(s) | Catherine Polli |
| Children | 3 |
Sir James Arthur Ratcliffe (born 18 October 1952) is a British businessman and chemical engineer. He is the chairman and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the INEOS chemicals group. He started this company in 1998.
In May 2018, Sir Jim Ratcliffe was the richest person in the UK. His wealth was estimated at over £21 billion. By May 2023, he was the second wealthiest person in the UK. His net worth was estimated at nearly £30 billion. In September 2020, he moved his tax home to Monaco. This move was estimated to save him a lot of money in taxes.
In February 2024, Ratcliffe became a part-owner of the English football club Manchester United. He also took charge of the club's football operations.
Contents
Early Life and School
Ratcliffe was born in Failsworth, which is now part of Greater Manchester. His father was a joiner, a person who builds things with wood. Later, his father ran a factory that made furniture for laboratories. His mother worked in an office handling money.
He grew up in a council house, which is a home provided by the local government. When he was 10, his family moved to East Yorkshire. He went to Beverley Grammar School. He then studied chemical engineering at the University of Birmingham. He graduated in 1974.
His Business Journey
After finishing university, Ratcliffe worked for the oil company BP. However, he was let go after only three days. This was because he had eczema, a skin condition. BP decided this made him unsuitable for working with toxic chemicals. After leaving BP, he became a trainee accountant at a company that made medicines.
A few years later, Ratcliffe joined another big oil company, Esso. Between 1978 and 1980, Esso paid for him to get his MBA degree. An MBA is a Master of Business Administration. He studied at the London Business School. In 2016, he donated £25 million to the school. After Esso, Ratcliffe worked for a company called Courtaulds. He stayed there until his mid-thirties. In 1989, he joined a US company called Advent International. This company invests in other businesses.
Starting INEOS
In 1998, Ratcliffe started his own company, INEOS. He formed it to buy out another company he had helped start, called Inspec. INEOS began by buying parts of other large companies. These included ICI and BP. He chose parts of businesses that he thought could grow a lot.
In 2006, INEOS bought Innovene, which was BP's refining and petrochemicals business. This gave INEOS refineries and plants in many countries. These included Scotland, Italy, Germany, and Canada. In 2007, the company bought Norsk Hydro's polymers business. This helped INEOS grow its presence in the European plastics market. It especially helped with making PVC, a type of plastic.
In April 2010, INEOS moved its main office from Hampshire, UK, to Rolle, Switzerland. This move helped the company save a lot of money in taxes each year. However, in 2015, Ratcliffe opened INEOS's UK headquarters in London. He said he was happy to bring parts of the business back to the UK.
In February 2019, INEOS announced it would invest £1 billion in the UK's oil and chemical industries. This included improving the Forties pipeline system. This system transports a large amount of oil and gas from the North Sea.
On 1 May 2019, Ratcliffe spoke about the rules for fracking in Britain. Fracking is a way to get gas from rocks deep underground. He said the rules were too strict. They required stopping fracking if even a tiny tremor was detected. This rule had led to a ban on fracking.
INEOS Automotive
Ratcliffe founded Ineos Automotive. He wanted to build a new version of the Land Rover Defender, a tough off-road vehicle. When he couldn't buy the tools from Land Rover, he decided to build his own. In 2019, he partnered with BMW and Magna Steyr. They designed a similar vehicle called Projekt Grenadier. The Grenadier Station Wagon started being made in October 2022. A utility vehicle called the Quartermaster was launched in 2023.
Energy Transition
In October 2021, Ratcliffe announced plans to invest over €2 billion. This money would go into projects to make green hydrogen across Europe. Green hydrogen is a clean fuel made using renewable electricity. The first projects are in Norway. They will make clean hydrogen by splitting water using electricity from renewable sources. This hydrogen will be used for transport in Norway. More projects are planned for Germany and Belgium. Ratcliffe also plans to invest in France and the UK. His hydrogen business will be based in the UK.
Environmental Efforts
INEOS has worked on small projects to make bio ethanol. This fuel is made using special bacteria. However, they faced problems because the gas used had too much hydrogen cyanide. This was too high for the bacteria to survive. INEOS sold its US plant for this project in 2017.
Sports Interests
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is very interested in sports. In 2013, he completed the Marathon Des Sables. This is a very long race across the Sahara Desert. He also started a charity called "Go Run for Fun." This charity encourages thousands of children aged five to ten to be active. It does this by creating fun events with famous people. He also supported the 2019 Ineos 1:59 Challenge. In this challenge, Eliud Kipchoge successfully ran a marathon in under two hours.
Ratcliffe bought FC Lausanne-Sport, a Swiss football club, in 2017. Through INEOS, he also bought the French football club Nice in 2019.
In 2022, he tried to buy the Premier League football club Chelsea. He made a bid of £4.25 billion, but it was not accepted. Chelsea was later sold to another businessman.
In August 2022, Ratcliffe showed interest in buying Manchester United. This is a team he has supported since he was a child. In January 2023, INEOS officially announced its bid to buy the club. On 24 December 2023, Manchester United announced that Ratcliffe had bought a 25 percent share in the club. INEOS Sport took control of the club's football operations. The purchase was completed in February 2024.
In sailing, Ratcliffe partnered with Ben Ainslie. They formed Ineos Team UK to compete in the 36th America's Cup in 2021. Ratcliffe reportedly invested over £110 million in this project. INEOS Britannia is the British team for the 37th America's Cup. This race will be held in Barcelona in October 2024.
Ratcliffe bought the Team Sky cycling team in 2019. It was then renamed Team INEOS. Their first race under the new name was the 2019 Tour de Yorkshire. They later won the 2019 Tour de France and the 2021 Giro d'Italia with rider Egan Bernal.
In 2020, INEOS became a main partner of the Mercedes AMG F1 team. They signed a five-year agreement.
Awards and Recognition
In May 2009, Ratcliffe was given an honorary fellowship by the Institution of Chemical Engineers. This was for his leadership in building the INEOS Group. In 2013, he received the Petrochemical Heritage Award. Ratcliffe was made a Knight Bachelor in 2018. This honor was for his contributions to business and investment.
Personal Life
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has two sons with his former wife, Amanda Townson. He also has one daughter from a past relationship. He is married to Catherine Polli.
Ratcliffe enjoys being physically active. He does gym work and running. He also likes sports and adventures. He has traveled to the North and South Poles. He also went on a three-month motorbike trip in South Africa. In 2013, he completed the Marathon Des Sables across the Sahara Desert. He also founded the charity "Go Run for Fun." This charity encourages young children to be active. Another charity, the Jim Ratcliffe Foundation, helped build a ski clubhouse in Courchevel. This was to help children from less fortunate backgrounds learn to ski.
Ratcliffe spends his time between Hampshire in the UK and Monaco. In September 2020, he officially changed his tax home to Monaco. He owns a large property in Switzerland, by Lake Geneva. He also owns hotels in Courchevel and Hampshire.
Ratcliffe has owned two large super yachts made by Feadship. He currently owns the 78-meter-long Hampshire II.
Views on Brexit
Ratcliffe supported the UK leaving the European Union, known as Brexit. He said in 2019 that INEOS supported the idea of a common market in Europe. However, he did not support a "United States of Europe." He felt that too many European laws were making European economies slow and inefficient. He has also shared his opinions on politicians. He has said they are often happy to meet with bankers but less keen to talk about business with people who run industries.
See Also
- Ineos Group Limited
