UK’s richest man forced out of the shadows, with his political leanings and tax affairs

LONDON: Reclusive titan of industry Jim Ratcliffe has found himself under unusual scrutiny after being declared Britain’s richest man, with his political leanings and tax affairs coming under the microscope.

The 65-year-old head of the Ineos chemicals group has assets worth an estimated 21 billion pounds ( US$ 26.7 billion, 23.5 billion euros), putting him top of the 2018 Sunday Times rich list.

He was only 18th on last year’s list but the value of his company, of which he owns 60 per cent, soared last year, propelling him up the ranks and earning him a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.

It is a long way from his humble beginnings, growing up in social housing in Manchester, northern England.

After earning a chemistry degree from the University of Birmingham and an MBA from the London Business School, Ratcliffe began a 40-year career in the business world at investment company Advent International before creating Ineos in 1998.

The company went on to become an industrial juggernaut in a country increasingly dominated by the service sector.

The group now has annual sales of $ 60 billion and employs over 18,000 people in 24 countries.

Chemicals manufactured by Ineos are found in various everyday products, from shower gel to medication.

Ineos grew through acquisitions, including the US$ 9 billion purchase of petrochemical group Innovene, a subsidiary of BP.

He acquired the giant Grangemouth refinery in Scotland as part of the deal, where he was soon plunged into battle with unions. The group’s tactics have led to accusations of asset stripping, but Ratcliffe told the BBC’s HARDtalk programme in 2016 that it merely pursued “management with more cost effectiveness”. Ratcliffe is also a strong advocate of shale gas, organising in late 2016 the arrival from the US of the first cargo destined for Britain.