“Rich, powerful, ruthless…” Once named Britain’s richest man, billionaire Jim Ratcliffe built his chemical empire Ineos from nothing into a £65bn business. He’s aggressively pro-Brexit and pro-fracking, he humiliated the Unite union in the Grangemouth industrial dispute… and now he wants to buy Manchester United. What drove the lad from a Failsworth council estate to become so powerful? How did he turn Ineos into a giant? And what can Man United expect from him if his bid is successful? Michael Crick talks to some people who know the tycoon’s methods well: former Scottish First Minister Sir Alex Salmond, Labour’s former leader in Scotland Richard Leonard MSP, and former Dean of the London Business School Prof Sir Andrew Likierman, who taught Ratcliffe. “The INEOS site represents 10% of Scotland’s GDP in one man’s hands – and that man’s a tax exile in the South of France with his HQ in Switzerland.” – Richard Leonard “This was clearly somebody who was ambitious and capable and who was going to get on… We just didn’t realise just how capable he was.” – Andrew Likierman “I found Jim quite a straightforward ruthless capitalist… You mustn’t expect him not to be hard-nosed – but my feelings towards him are quite positive.” – Alex Salmond “For Manchester United fans, I’m not sure whether Jim Ratcliffe is the Devil or the deep blue sea.” – Richard Leonard Written and presented by Michael Crick. Produced by Neil Fearn. Audio production by Alex Rees. Music by Jade Bailey. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Mugshots is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices