James Ratcliffe

Net worth over time

Biography

• James Ratcliffe is the founder, chairman and majority owner of chemical powerhouse Ineos Group.
• The London-based conglomerate produces everything from synthetic oils and plastics to solvents used to make insulin and antibiotics.
• It's become one of the U.K. shale sector's largest players. Its 600-foot "Dragon Ships" were the first to transport U.S. shale gas into Europe.
• Ratcliffe, a former chemical engineer, mortgaged his house in 1992 to lead the buyout of a BP chemicals business; 6 years later, he bought a plant from that firm to form Ineos.
• Ineos acquired two chemicals businesses from BP in 2021 for $5 billion. It formed petrochemical JVs with Sinopec worth more than $7 billion in 2022.
• In 2023, Ineos acquired $1.4 billion of U.S. onshore oil and gas assets from Chesapeake Energy.
• Ineos also acquired a stake in British soccer club Manchester United for $1.5 billion.
• An adventure seeker, Ratcliffe has made trips to both the North and South poles and went on a month-long motorbike trip in South Africa in 2015.
• Ineos owns a third of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, as well as two smaller soccer clubs in France and Switzerland.
• It has also built a successor to Land Rover's discontinued off-roader Defender, the Ineos Grenadier.