cliffe is the chairman and CEO of chemicals company INEOS and has a net worth of around £13billion.
The 70-year-old has a history of owning football clubs as his company are the current owners of Ligue 1 side Nice and Swiss team FC Lausanne-Sport.
He was also among the bidders for Chelsea before ultimately losing out to a consortium led by Todd Boehly last year.
Ratcliffe is involved in other sports too, taking over cycling giant Team Sky in 2019 and rebranding them to Team Ineos.
tcliffe is the chairman and CEO of chemicals company INEOS and has a net worth of around £13billion.
The 70-year-old has a history of owning football clubs as his company are the current owners of Ligue 1 side Nice and Swiss team FC Lausanne-Sport.
He was also among the bidders for Chelsea before ultimately losing out to a consortium led by Todd Boehly last year.
Ratcliffe is involved in other sports too, taking over cycling giant Team Sky in 2019 and rebranding them to Team Ineos.
The billionaire was born in Failsworth, Great Manchester and lived in a council house with his parents.
Ratcliffe has been a United fan since his childhood, with his bid for the club being not only a business move but a personal one.
In 1998, Ratcliffe founded INEOS and the company has gone on to hand him his riches.
Speaking about his chemicals company, he told The Times: “We’d look at businesses that were unfashionable or unsexy, facilities owned by large corporations where you’d know they would be sloppy with the fixed costs.
“We’d run them a bit better, reduce the costs, make them busy, and over the cycle they are very profitable.”
20 years after beginning his company, Ratcliffe was knighted by the Queen for his services to business and investment.
Last month, INEOS’ bid for United become public as a spokesperson said: “We have formally put ourselves into the process”.
Ratcliffe’s business was and still is the first to make their interest in the takeover known with a battle looking set to ensue.
He has reportedly been working with two investment banks in Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan who are prepared to help out with his offer by providing loans and bonds.
Billionaire Ratcliffe looks set to fight it out with private Qatari investors and other interested parties ahead of the soft deadline next Friday.
