Jim Ratcliffe Bio, Wiki, Age, height, Education, Networth, Family and More

Career

His first job was with oil giant Esso, but he decided to broaden his skills into finance by studying management accounting, studying for an MBA at London Business School from 1978 to 1980 (he donated £25m to the school in 2016). In 1989, he joined US private equity group Advent International.

INEOS

He was a co-founder of Inspec, which leased the former BP Chemicals site in Antwerp, Belgium. In 1998, Ratcliffe formed INEOS in Hampshire to buy-out Inspec and the freehold of the Antwerp site.

Energy transition

In October 2021, he announced plans to invest more than €2bn (£1.7bn) into electrolysis projects to make zero-carbon green hydrogen across Europe. He said the first units will produce clean hydrogen through the electrolysis of water in Norway, powered by renewable electricity, and will serve as a hub to provide gas for the country’s transport industry. This will be followed by projects in Germany and Belgium. Ratcliffe also intends to invest in France and the UK, where his hydrogen business will be headquartered.

Environmental pollution

In March 2019, INEOS said it would close its Middlesbrough manufacturing plant unless it is allowed to 'defer compliance' with EU rules designed to prevent air and water pollution. An analysis of data from the Environment Agency (EA) also reveals the plant clocked up 176 permit violations between 2014 and 2017. An EA spokesperson said: "air emissions are well over legal limits and this poses a risk to the environment". INEOS director Tom Crotty said the firm "cannot justify" the investment required to comply with EU air and water pollution rules due to come into force in the coming years.

INEOS has carried out small projects in bio ethanol production using Clostridium bacteria, but it has had problems because the syngas has levels of hydrogen cyanide too high for the bacteria to survive. INEOS sold the Florida plant to Alliance Bio-Products Inc. in 2017.

Sport

He is keen on sport and in 2013, he completed the Marathon Des Sables across the Sahara Desert, and he has founded a charity "Go Run for Fun", encouraging thousands of children aged between five and ten to get active by creating celebrity-driven events. He supported the 2019 INEOS 1:59 Challenge, a successful effort by Eliud Kipchoge to run the classic marathon distance (42.195 kilometres or 26 miles 385 yards) under 2 hours. Another charity, the Jim Ratcliffe Foundation, helped build a new ski clubhouse in Courchevel to help underprivileged children learn to ski.

He has also bought football clubs, FC Lausanne-Sport, a Swiss Super League football club in 2017. Through INEOS, he bought OGC Nice in 2019 from Chinese-American entrepreneur Chien Lee.

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, sanctions on Roman Abramovich, long-term owner of Premier League side Chelsea F.C., forced him to put the club up for sale. Ratcliffe made £4.25 billion bid to buy the club but this was rejected. Chelsea FC were eventually sold to US businessman Todd Boehly.

In August 2022 he expressed interest in buying the Premier League football team Manchester United, a team he has supported since childhood. The following January, INEOS announced publicly that it had entered into the formal process of bidding for Manchester United after the current owners announced it was looking for new investors.

Honours and awards

In May 2009, Ratcliffe was granted an honorary fellowship by the Institution of Chemical Engineers citing "his sustained leadership in building the INEOS Group."[40] In 2013 he received the Petrochemical Heritage Award.[41] Ratcliffe was appointed Knight Bachelor in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to business and to investment.