UK’s richest man (and staunch Brexiteer) abandons Britain to take £21bn fortune to Monaco

Britain’s richest man is leaving the country to live in Monaco – just two months after he was knighted by the Queen for services to business and investment.

sir Jim ratcliffe, who is worth £21billion, is preparing to move to the tax-free principality on the Côte d’azur, it is believed in order to reduce his UK taxes.

the 65-year- old businessman is the founder and chief executive of petrochemicals company ineos and a highprofile Brexit supporter.

it is understood that the two other senior executives at ineos, andy Currie and John reece, have also decided to move with him. sir Jim did not respond to requests for comment and a spokesman for ineos described the move as a ‘personal matter’. the company said it was ‘committed’ to the UK and planned to keep its headquarters in London ‘for the foreseeable future’.

in the run-up to the Brexit referendum, sir Jim said Britain would thrive outside the EU. and in the aftermath of the vote he urged the Government to adopt a tough approach to exit negotiations. ‘We must listen, we must be unwaveringly polite and retain our charm,’ he said.

‘But there is no room for weakness or crumpling at 3am when the going gets tough and most points are won or lost.’

He said Europe needed access to the UK’s market as much as Britain needed the rest of Europe. ‘never forget that we have a decent set of cards,’ he added. ‘Mercedes is not going to stop selling cars in the UK. and London is one of the two key financial centres, and that isn’t going to change.’ sir Jim was ranked the UK’s richest person in May after he contacted the editor of the sunday times rich list to complain that his wealth had been drastically underestimated. the list increased its estimate of his wealth by £15.3billion to £21billion after he gave access to the privately-held accounts of ineos, which he founded in 1998.

the newspaper also increased its valuation of his mansion near Beaulieu, in the new Forest, and his two superyachts, called Hampshire and Hampshire ii. the reassessment catapulted the tycoon from 18th to first place.

sir Jim owns 60 per cent of ineos, which made profits of more than £2.2billion last year and employs 18,500 people. Mr Currie and Mr reece each own 20 per cent of the company worth £7billion – making them the joint-16th richest people in the UK.

sir Jim moved ineos to switzerland in 2010 in protest against the then Labour government’s tax regime. the relocation saved his company an estimated £405million in tax. He then moved the company back to the UK in 2016 after the Conservatives returned to power and cut corporation tax from 28 per cent to 20 per cent. at the time, he said: ‘Our new base in London reflects our British roots. the future for ineos is very bright and much of this optimism comes from our UK-based operations.’