Jim Ratcliffe, the Manchester United co-owner and UK multibillionaire who prompted fury this week when he astonishingly claimed immigration was costing the country "too much money", has deprived the public purse of millions.
Ratcliffe, 73, one of the UK's richest men, expressed his admiration for Nigel Farage and claimed the country was being "colonised" by immigrants in a shocking interview released this week that has seen him branded "hypocritical".
The Sunday Times Rich List estimated he's worth a massive £17billion, and, alongside his part ownership of the Premier League club, he has mansions in London and Hampshire, and a £78million superyacht.
But despite being financially stacked, the founder of chemical firm INEOS has gone to great lengths to hoard his wealth, including moving countries so he can pay less in tax.
Mr Ratcliffe claimed this week that the UK "can’t afford" immigration and benefits, adding during an interview with Sky News: "You can’t have an economy with 9 million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in."
He also suggested: "The UK is being colonised by immigrants, really, isn’t it?” Ratcliffe, from Failsworth in Oldham, Manchester, trained as a chemical engineer and founded the INEOS chemicals group, now a multinational conglomerate, in 1998.
Tax haven move
In 2020, two years after he was knighted for "services to business and investment" he officially changed his tax residence, switching from Hampshire to Monaco.
Monaco is a sovereign city state tax haven outside France where authorities do not levy taxes on income, wealth or property, and the deicision, at the time, was believed to have allowed Ratcliffe up to save up to £4 billion if he stayed there more than 183 days a year.
He was previously one of the UK's biggest taxpayers, having contributed an estimated £110 million to the public purse between 2017 and 2018, placing him atop the Sunday Times Rich lists and fifth on the publication's Tax List. Ratcliffe doesn't appear on the tax list at all in 2026, but ranked seventh on the most recent Rich List, released in 2025.
His continued presence on the list while suggesting the UK can't financially support people coming to the country has led people to accuse him of being a hypocrite.
Among them was Sage Coulter, 30, a Manchester United fan of 13 years hailing from Florida who said his comments were "inappropriate" and "hypocritical". She told the BBC: "It's sad to see that that is happening over here," Sage said. "Immigrants are important.
"[Ratcliffe] lives in Monaco and doesn't pay UK taxes, so I mean, it's a bit ironic and hypocritical. It's all very hypocritical. How many immigrants play for United and other clubs?"
Manchester United would have been left with just three players on its starting lineup and two on its bench without its immigrant players, and the team said in a rare statement following Mr Ratcliffe's comments that it treasured its "diverse group of players, staff, and global community of supporters".
A spokesperson said today: “Manchester United prides itself on being an inclusive and welcoming club,” a statement said. “Our diverse group of players, staff and global community of supporters, reflect the history and heritage of Manchester; a city that anyone can call home.
"Since launching All Red All Equal in 2016, we have embedded equality, diversity and inclusion into everything we do. We remain deeply committed to the principles and spirit of that campaign."
