Manchester United bidder Sir Jim Ratcliffe now second-richest person in UK

Manchester United bidder Sir Jim Ratcliffe is now thee second-richest person in the UK, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

The list compliers estimated the Ratcliffe, who is originally from Failsworth in Oldham, to be worth almost £30billion.

Ratcliffe, who is the chief executive of the chemicals company INEOS, is currently bidding for a stake in Manchester United.

He made second, improved bid for Manchester United back in March and faces competition from Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar.

The Qatari businessman made an improved fourth bid to buy 100 percent of the club earlier in May.

Back in 2022, Ratcliffe was estimated to be worth £6.075bn, putting him in 27th place on the Sunday Times Rich List.

However, his wealth has jumped exponentially by 400 per cent to £29.688bn in just a year.

Robert Watts, the compiler of the Rich List, said: “This year we have new information about the full scale of INEOS’ profits and that has made us confident that INEOS is now worth at least £40bn.

“We have also learned more about the personal assets that Jim has accumulated over the past 25 years.”

The Reuben family, which includes Jamie Reuben who bought a minority stake as part of the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle in October 2021, drops from third to fourth on the list despite their overall fortune increasing by £2.134bn to £24.399bn.

The Coates family, which founded the bet365 betting company and owns Championship club Stoke, remains in 16th place with a total fortune of £8.795bn, an increase of £158million compared to 2022.

Also contained within its list of the wealthiest 35 people under the age of 35 were boxer Anthony Joshua at £150million plus footballers Gareth Bale (£70m), Raheem Sterling £61m) and Harry Kane (£51m).

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