Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More infoManchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has seen his net worth fall by $5.04bn (£3.9bn) over the past 12 months.Ratcliffe, 71, who acquired a 27.7% stake in United in a $1.2bn deal at the start of 2024 after striking a deal with majority owners, the Glazer family, where he would be handed oversight over footballing and strategic matters at the club, has amassed his fortune through founding petrochemicals giant INEOS back in 1998.His net worth, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index still stands at a remarkable $16.1bn (£12.7bn), but having been the world’s 110th richest person at the start of the year, Ratcliffe is now sits at number 131 on the list after a year-on-year decline of almost £4bn in his net worth, something tied to INEOS performance and also other investments including that of United.ALSO READ: Alvaro Fernandez drops hint on potential return to UnitedALSO READ: Amorim must disrupt partnership that Van Nistelrooy createdThe wealth of high net worth individuals can fluctuate greatly depending on what industry their main assets sit in, and with INEOS operating, mostly, in the industrial sector that can be volatile.Such a drop won’t have Ratcliffe too concerned, however, with the Failsworth-born British billionaire the driving force behind wanting to see the vision of a new Old Trafford come to pass, a new stadium that would provide United with an arena that could help them continue to compete with the biggest clubs on the planet from both a financial and competitive point of view.While Ratcliffe has been clear on how he would like some of the project to be funded, which is through taxpayer funds and making a new stadium “the Wembley of the North,” there will be plentiful access to major capital, at very competitive rates, should it be INEOS that needs to raise that cash in the future to realise part of the project, and that is good from a long-term financial perspective for the football club.Ratcliffe’s success with INEOS arrived after he acquired the company from the Inspec Group, making a major move in 2006 to buy up BP’s refineries in Europe and Canada, a move that turbo-charged the trajectory of the company.Over the past decade Ratcliffe, through INEOS, has sought to make an impact on sport, first through sponsorship deals with the likes of the INEOS Britannia sailing team, the INEOS Grenadiers professional cycling team, and through majority ownership of French Ligue 1 side OGC Nice. All three have touch points with personal sporting passions of Ratcliffe.
Click here to read article