71-year-old billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is fighting to secure his inheritance

The 71-year-old is one of the richest people in Britain. According to the latest data, his net worth is estimated at £23.5 billion. Sunday Times Richest People List.

What do you do with all that wealth? For Ratcliffe, the answer seems to be to live out every one of his childhood fantasies.

Ratcliffe’s hobbies

The petrochemical billionaire has a quirky, eclectic mix of ventures that combines his passions for sports, cars, fishing and drinking.

Ratcliffe was a regular at the Grenadier Pub, located on a side street in London’s affluent Knightsbridge district.

While having a pint in this pub, Ratcliffe decided to revive the Land Rover Discovery and named the upcoming model “Grenadier” after his beloved local pub.

He bought the pub in 2022.

His most famous side hobby, however, was buying a minority stake in Manchester United last year, which would see him and his team take over the club’s football operations.

Given his previous sporting ventures, including ownership of the highly successful Ineos Grenadier cycling team and Nice football club, as well as his declared lifelong support of the club, Ratcliffe was seen as the ideal man to help turn Manchester United around.

Ratcliffe has already revamped Manchester United’s football team, installing a new CEO, Omar Barrada, and poaching new sporting director Dan Ashworth from rival Newcastle United.

He has also quietly purchased 400,000 acres of land in Iceland, where he enjoys fishing.

In response to the question from The times When asked if anyone in the country owned more land than he did, Ratcliffe replied: “Perhaps the church?”

“All the intensity of everyday life, where everything is covered in concrete or asphalt and you’re umbilically connected to your iPhone, disappears very quickly in this environment,” Ratcliffe told the publication. “I hope this will have a positive effect on my longevity.”

Legacy Buildings

Looking at Ratcliffe’s investments and his comments, it’s easy to conclude that his purchases are merely expensive gimmicks by a billionaire designed to help him escape the intense demands of running a large global corporation.

That’s obviously part of it, says Liz Colfer, associate director and chartered financial planner at wealth management firm Five Wealth.

“When you run the company as long as he has, you’ve checked that box to a certain extent. And then you think about what other things you can get involved in and what else you can do,” Colfer said Assets.

“When you have that mindset, to a certain extent you’re never satisfied. There’s always something else. You’re always thinking about another idea.”

Ratcliffe often used personal anecdotes to justify his purchases, rarely mentioning the potential for financial gain.

Before buying a hefty stake in Man United, Ratcliffe spoke about how much he supported the club while growing up in the Manchester town of Failsworth, which is around seven miles from Old Trafford stadium.

However, behind this fulfillment of childhood dreams there is probably more of a tactical motivation.

Still spry at 71, having completed the London Marathon in May in just over four hours and 30 minutes, Ratcliffe is paying tribute to his legacy with his stunning purchases.

Despite his enormous net worth, Ratcliffe was a marginal figure outside the business world for much of his time at the helm of Ineos.

But it was only after he bought a minority stake in Manchester United that he became the talk of the town and, with the exception of a few opposing fans, he had good reasons for this.

Taking over a club that was already in a state of disrepair before he bought it, and whose fan base is growing increasingly angry with the club’s majority owners, the Glazer family, gives Ratcliffe the chance to be seen as the club’s saviour.

Ratcliffe’s Ineos shadow

After building his fortune at a petrochemical giant whose facilities faced with legal action Environmental groups say Ratcliffe’s legacy is far from secure as the earth turns away from environmentally damaging fossil fuels in the face of increasingly apparent impacts of climate change.

Its new 4×4 Grenadier is powered by hydrogen and is a prime example of Ineos’ renewable energy division, but the majority of its revenue still comes from the petrochemicals business.

In July Plans drawn for an electric SUV called Fusilier, citing weak demand and the British government’s “industry uncertainty over tariffs, timelines and taxation.”

His land purchase in Iceland could also pave the way for more environmentally friendly initiatives, says Jessica Crane, a wealth and business advisor.

“Investing in such a beautiful location not only offers potential for value creation, but also opens doors for ecotourism and renewable energy projects.”

However, it is still unclear how history will judge Ratcliffe’s attempts at later reorientation.

“The origin of wealth – and society’s reactions to it – often influences how the wealth owner deals with it, and embracing that narrative is key to staying on the right track and in control of their reputation and legacy,” Matthew Braithwaite, a partner at London law firm Wedlake Bell, told Assets“Ratcliffe’s purchase of the land in Iceland appears to be a nod to this commitment and helps counteract the environmental impact of INEOS and the source of its wealth.”

Whether his efforts will be enough will be “interesting,” says Colfer of Five Wealth.

Ratcliffe has reportedly set his sights on a new 100,000-seat stadium to replace Manchester United’s legendary Old Trafford, a structure that will remain standing long after he leaves.

If he can help Manchester United win their first Premier League title since 2013 or their first Champions League title since 2008, his name will likely adorn the halls of the new stadium for generations to come.

A representative for Ineos did not respond to a request for comment.