Man Utd co-owner Ratcliffe 'loses quarter of total wealth'

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, co-owner of Manchester United, has lost £6.473 billion. This is more than a quarter of his wealth in the past year. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, his fortune fell from £23.519 billion to £17.046 billion.

Ratcliffe has dropped from fourth to seventh place among the UK's richest people. His Ineos Group bought a 27.7% stake in Manchester United in February 2024. The deal was worth about £1.25 billion ($1.6 billion) and gave Ineos control over football operations.

His time at Old Trafford has faced criticism. Ticket prices have increased, and two rounds of redundancies occurred to improve finances. Ratcliffe defended these cost-cutting measures in a BBC interview in March.

He stated that without these "unpopular" decisions, the club would run out of cash by year's end. In March, United announced plans for a new £2 billion stadium near Old Trafford.

Ratcliffe assured that financial issues at Ineos would not affect Manchester United. Earlier this year, Ineos ended its sponsorship deal with New Zealand Rugby and parted ways with Ben Ainslie after supporting him since 2018.

The company cited "cost-saving measures" due to challenges in the chemicals industry in Europe. High energy taxes and extreme carbon taxes have contributed to these difficulties.

When discussing Ineos' financial situation, Ratcliffe noted it is not as strong as before but still stable today. He mentioned that energy prices in Europe are five times higher than those in America.

Currently, Manchester United sits 16th in the Premier League with two games left to play. Their hopes for silverware depend on their Europa League final against Tottenham on Wednesday.

While Ratcliffe's wealth has declined, several athletes have seen increases in their fortunes. Rory McIlroy leads the Sunday Times' 40 under 40 list with a net worth of £260 million after winning the Masters last month.

Boxer Anthony Joshua ranks 24th with £195 million despite not fighting since September's defeat by Daniel Dubois. Sir Andy Murray is 35th with £110 million following his retirement from tennis last August.

Harry Kane makes the list at joint-38th place after increasing his fortune by £25 million to reach £100 million this month when Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga.