UK’s fifth richest man quits Britain: Petrochemicals magnate Sir Jim Ratcliffe who’s worth £17.5 BILLION moves to tax-free Monaco
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe has officially moved from Hampshire to tax-free Monaco
- The petrochemicals magnate was the UK’s third highest individual taxpayer
- He was recently knighted by the Queen and was a prominent Brexiteer in 2016
Petrochemicals magnate Sir Jim Ratcliffe has moved to Monaco where he is expected to save an estimated £4billion in tax.
The founder and chief executive of petrochemicals company Ineos, 67, has moved from Hampshire to the tax-free soveriegn city state, reported the Guardian.
People who live in Monaco for at least 183 days a year do not pay any income or property taxes. In the UK, meanwhile, the highest tax rate is 45 per cent on income above £150,000-a-year.
Ratcliffe was the UK’s third highest individual taxpayer and forked out £110million in 2017-18, according to the Sunday Times tax list.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the founder and chief executive of petrochemicals company Ineos, 67, has moved from Hampshire to Monaco
The Brexiteer recorded his official place of residence as Monaco when he updated his details as Director of private jet company Hampshire Aviations on Companies House
He isn’t the first Briton to make the move. He follows Topshop boss Phillip Green and his wife Tina; Simon and David Reuben; Matalan boss John Hargreaves; and Lewis Hamilton.
The Brexiteer recorded his official place of residence as Monaco when he updated his details as Director of private jet company Hampshire Aviations on Companies House.
It comes soon after he was knighted by the Queen for ‘services to business and investment’.
After the referendum, Ratcliffe said of the negotiations: ‘We must listen, we must be unwaveringly polite and retain our charm.
‘But there is no room for weakness or crumpling at 3am when the going gets tough and most points are won or lost.’
Ratcliffe, majority owner of Home Grown Hotels and Lime Wood Group, made use of the government scheme which saw workers paid up to £2,500 a month
The wealthy hotelier was last year reported to have had plans to move to tax haven Monaco to avoid paying £4billion. Pictured is his property, the Lime Wood Hotel
Ratcliffe, who owns 60 per cent of Ineos, has seen his personal fortune increase from an estimated £9.5bn in January 2019 to £17.5bn today, according to the Bloomberg billionaires index.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Ineos said: ‘We don’t comment on the personal details of our directors and employees.’
In May Ratcliffe came under fire when he furloughed almost 800 members of staff from his luxury hotel groups.
In 2018 the chemical company founder is reported to have attempted to buy Chelsea Football Club from owner Roman Abramovich, but nothing went ahead as he was unwilling to pay the Russian owner’s valuation of the club.