Bottle caps, toothpaste, food packaging, mobile phones — you won't know it, but you probably use a product made by Jim Ratcliffe's company almost every day. Ineos is a chemicals manufacturer, meaning it produces the raw materials for a dizzying number of everyday objects.
From a council estate to Britain’s richest man
Bottle caps, toothpaste, food packaging, mobile phones - you won't know it, but you probably use a product made by Jim Ratcliffe's company almost every day. Ineos is a chemicals manufacturer, meaning it produces the raw materials for a dizzying number of everyday objects.
Q & A
Now, Ratcliffe has been named the wealthiest person in Britain. With an estimated fortune of 21 billion, he easily tops the annual Sunday Times Rich List, which was published yesterday.
He is no ordinary billionaire: he was raised on a council estateIn the UK, housing estates where people, often on low incomes, rent heir homes from the local authority, rather than a landlord. ; his father was a joiner who left school at 14; he avoided university in London because he had never been to the capital before. Now, his office is right by HarrodsA large, expensive department store in London. - and he is the first "self-made, British-born industrialist" to top the Rich List, according to its compiler, Robert Watts.
This year the list is celebrating its 30th birthday, and things have changed a lot since it was first published. In 1989, the richest 200 people in Britain were worth 38 billion in total. Now that is less than the value of then top two. There were nine billionaires on the first list; now there are a record 145. And they are getting richer far quicker; last year, the combined wealth of the entire list grew by 10%, to a record 724 billion.
But the biggest change, Watts wrote, is the type of person on the list. "AristocratsMembers of the highest social class, who are often rulers or people with inherited titles. and inherited wealth has been elbowed out of the list and replaced by an army of self-made entrepreneurs." In 1989, less than half of the list had made their own money. Now, it is 94%.
The list also offers insight into the fortunes of celebrities. Adele and JK Rowling got richer. Daniel Craig and Rita Ora appeared for the first time. Meanwhile, Jamie Oliver dropped off the list after closing 12 restaurants.
Not everyone finds the list inspiring. Today, the Labour Party's shadow cabinet office minister will make a speech arguing that it "exposes a warped system in which a super-rich elite runs rings around the rest of us".
Is money worth celebrating?
No, argue some. As the Bible itself says, "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil". After a certain point, being rich stops making people happy. And the desire to keep earning more can often make us greedy and selfish - it is shameful of Ratcliffe to keep so much money when there are children going hungry in his own country.
This is too simplistic, argue others. Ratcliffe's "greed" is actually a desire to work hard and create jobs for thousands of people. He pays taxes and gives to charity. So what is the problem? We should be happy that so many people in Britain have made such large fortunes, often from nothing - it is a reminder that we could do the same one day.
What do we know?: To make it onto the 2018 Rich List, you had to have at least 115 million. This year there were a record 141 women on the list, with the richest being Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken of the Heineken brewing company. She is worth 11.1 billion. The list includes anyone who lives or works in Britain, regardless of where they were born.
What do we not know? How accurate the fortunes are. The Sunday Times estimates each person's wealth based on assets like their homes, shares in a company or artwork. The newspaper does not have access to the amounts held in someone's bank account, which means most people are probably richer than the list says. We also do not know if there are people who should appear on the list but don't, because they have managed to keep their wealth private.
Keywords
Council estate - In the UK, housing estates where people, often on low incomes, rent heir homes from the local authority, rather than a landlord.
Harrods - A large, expensive department store in London.
Aristocrats - Members of the highest social class, who are often rulers or people with inherited titles.
From a council estate to Britain’s richest man
Glossary
Council estate - In the UK, housing estates where people, often on low incomes, rent heir homes from the local authority, rather than a landlord.
Harrods - A large, expensive department store in London.
Aristocrats - Members of the highest social class, who are often rulers or people with inherited titles.