How Sir Jim Ratcliffe went from living in a Manchester council house to becoming Britain ’ s richest man
LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT
Sir Jim Ratcliffe The ultimate self-made billionaire
How Sir Jim Ratcliffe went from living in a Manchester council house to becoming Britain ’ s richest man
WRITTEN BY : TOM CHAPMAN
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is a man well accustomed to breaking records and topping tables , most notably as Britain ’ s richest person . According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2023 , Sir Jim ’ s net worth stands at an eye-watering US $ 37.5 billion , while his Ineos Group is a regular in the Fortune Global 500 .
However , in recent months , this self-made billionaire has been making headlines for his interest in buying Manchester United , the team he supported as a boy .
At the time of writing there is rampant speculation that the club could be taken off the market but , were a multi-billion deal to be completed , it would be the biggest in football history .
Whether or not a takeover comes to fruition , Sir Jim ’ s interest in United goes to show he remains intent on broadening his enormous business empire , even at the age of 70 .
Sir Jim Ratcliffe : From rags to riches Growing up in a council house in Failsworth , Greater Manchester , it ’ s fair to say Sir Jim did not have your typical billionaire ’ s childhood .
His parents worked steady jobs , his mother in an accounts office and his father as a joiner , but there was certainly no vast fortune for him to inherit .
Despite this modest upbringing , a young James Ratcliffe was fast developing an interest in business and industry , and exhibited a passion for engineering at Beverley Grammar School following his family ’ s move to Yorkshire when he was 10 .
His intelligence was plain to see and earned him a spot at the University of Birmingham , where he studied chemical engineering , before starting his working career with Esso .
Sensing , however , that his journey in education was incomplete , Sir Jim then attended London Business School to earn his MBA in finance .
18 October 2023