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 aspect initiatives, from proudly owning a London pub and a soccer membership to embarking on an actual property splurge within the remotest components of Iceland.
The 71-year-old is among the many richest individuals within the U.Ok., with a internet price estimated at £23.5 billion, in keeping with the most recent Sunday Instances Wealthy Checklist.
What do you do with all that wealth? For Ratcliffe, the reply seems to be dwelling 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 an everyday 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 aspect passion, although, was his buy of a minority share in Manchester United final 12 months, which might see him and his staff take over soccer operations on the membership.
From his earlier sports activities initiatives, comparable to his possession of the massively profitable biking staff Ineos Grenadier and soccer membership Good and his professed lifetime assist of the membership, Ratcliffe pitched himself as the perfect man to assist flip round Manchester United’s fortunes.
Ratcliffe has already overhauled Manchester United’s footballing aspect, 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: “Possibly the church?”
“All the intensity of everyday life where everything is covered in concrete or tarmac and you’re umbilically attached to your iPhone disappears very quickly in this environment,” Ratcliffe advised the publication. “It will 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 operating a significant international firm.
That’s clearly part of it, says Liz Colfer, affiliate director and chartered monetary planner at wealth administration enterprise 5 Wealth.
“When you’ve been running the company for as long as he has, you’ve kind of ticked that box to a certain extent. And then it’s thinking about what what other things can you get yourself involved in, and what else you can do,” Colfer advised Fortune.
“If you’ve got that mindset, to a certain extent it’s never satisfied. There’s always something else. You’re always thinking of another idea.”
Ratcliffe has usually used private anecdotes to construct momentum for his purchases, not often citing the potential for monetary achieve.
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 success 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 might be thoughtful of his legacy along with his jaw-dropping purchases.
Regardless of his large internet price, 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 a number of rival followers, for good causes.
Michael Regan—The FA/Getty Photos
Taking up 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, provides Ratcliffe the prospect to be seen as a savior.
Ratcliffe’s Ineos shadow
After constructing his internet price on a petrochemicals big whose vegetation 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 consequences of local weather change develop into much more obvious.
His new 4×4 Grenadier will run on hydrogen, performing because the poster baby 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.Ok. authorities for “industry uncertainty over tariffs, timings and taxation.”
Hollie Adams/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos
His shopping for of land in Iceland may additionally pave the way in which for greener initiatives, says Jessica Crane, a wealth and enterprise coach.
“Investing in such a beautiful location not only offers potential for value increase but also opens doors for ecotourism and renewable energy projects.”
It’s as but unclear, although, how historical past will choose Ratcliffe’s makes an attempt at a later-life rebrand.
“The origins of one’s wealth – and society’s responses to it – often influence a wealth holder’s approach to it, and owning this narrative is key in ensuring they are on the front-foot and in control of their reputation and legacy,” Matthew Braithwaite, a associate at London regulation agency Wedlake Bell, advised Fortune. “Ratcliffe’s purchase of the land in Iceland appears a nod to this obligation, helping to counter the environmental impact of INEOS and the origins of his wealth.”
Whether or not his efforts might be sufficient, 5 Wealth’s Colfer says, is “interesting.”
Ratcliffe is reportedly eyeing a brand new 100,000-seater stadium to interchange Manchester United’s iconic Previous Trafford, a construction that may final lengthy after he’s gone.
If he can assist oversee Manchester United’s first Premier League title since 2013 or its first Champions League since 2008, his identify will even probably don the brand new stadium’s halls for generations to come back.
A consultant for Ineos didn’t reply to a request for remark.
