Who is billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and how did he make his money?
Getty ImagesBillionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been labelled "wrong and offensive" by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for comments he made suggesting the UK had been "colonised by immigrants".
On Thursday the businessman and Manchester United co-owner apologised for his "choice of language" but said he wanted an "open debate" on the issues of migration, skills and investment.
Here's what we know about Ratcliffe and his career.
How much is he worth?
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is one of the UK's richest men, though estimates of exactly how much he is worth vary.
The 73-year-old is ranked seventh on the Sunday Times Rich List, which puts his net worth at £17bn ($23.2bn), while Forbes reckons it is slightly lower at £12.8bn ($17.5bn).
Assets include his Manchester United stake, mansions in London and Hampshire, a hotel in the French Alps and the 78m superyacht Hampshire II, but most of his billions come from the chemicals giant he runs, Ineos.
How did he make his money?
Ratcliffe was the son of a joiner and grew up on a council estate in Greater Manchester, graduated from the University of Birmingham and worked in the energy and chemicals sector.
In 1992 he mortgaged his house in order to part-fund a deal to buy a chemicals company that BP was selling. The punt paid off - by 1994, it was valued at £100m when it floated on the London Stock Exchange.
In 1998 Ratcliffe left to form Ineos, a private company where he remains chairman, and entered the billionaires' club thanks to the firm's growth.
Expansion, takeovers and growth in the sector meant Ratcliffe created the company whose chemicals and raw materials go into everything from packaging for toiletries, medicines and food, to mobile phones and furniture.
From 154 facilities in 27 countries, Switzerland-headquartered Ineos generates sales of about £50bn and employs more than 26,000 people.
Getty ImagesWhere does he live?
Despite many major investments, sports sponsorships and his beloved Manchester United all being based in the UK, the billionaire born in Failsworth now resides in Monaco.
Ratcliffe was for years one of the UK's biggest taxpayers but in 2020 he changed his tax domicile in a move that would reportedly save him £4bn in taxes if he stays more than 183 days per year in the city-state.
Despite switching his tax residency, Ratcliffe still gets about with properties spread between London, the Hampshire coast and New Forest, the French Alps, Switzerland and Monaco, as well as owning two superyachts and a Manchester-based football club to support.
When did he buy Manchester United?
In February 2024 the lifelong Manchester United fan finalised a £1.25bn deal to buy a 27.7% stake in the football club.
The Glazer family, who have owned the 20-time English champions since 2005, retained a majority stake in the club but Ratcliffe's Ineos Group took control of football operations.
Ratcliffe called the deal "a great honour" that came with "great responsibility" to turn the club's fortunes around, and followed a failed attempt to buy Chelsea in 2022.
The deal included £237m for future investment in the club's Old Trafford stadium, part of a £4.2bn regeneration project the industrialist has billed as "the Wembley of the North" which will seat 100,000 fans.
Getty ImagesWhy was he made a Sir and what are his politics?
Ratcliffe was knighted in 2018 "for services to business and investment".
When he changed his tax residency to Monaco two years later, the move drew criticism, given that he was a vocal supporter of Brexit.
He has previously said that the common market of the European Union was a good thing for his company Ineos, but he did not want "a United States of Europe".
In June 2024, Ratcliffe threw his support behind the Labour Party and Sir Keir Starmer, seemingly reading the tea leaves and saying voters had "had enough" of the Conservative Party and then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
He told Bloomberg at the time: "I like Keir. I think he'll do a very sensible job."
Fast forward to 2026 and in comments to Sky News, Ratcliffe only reiterated half of his previous enthusiasm, saying, "Keir is a nice man. I like him, but it's a tough job and I think you have to do some difficult things with the UK to get it back on track."
His latest comments regarding the number of immigrants in the UK are not the first time Ratcliffe has spoken on the subject. He has previously said that, as an island, "the UK can't cope" with current levels of people arriving in the country.
