Despite his business success, Ratcliffe has long been an enigma and privacy is also a hallmark of his Ineos group. — AFP
The Monaco-based businessman and car enthusiast purchased the Hambach site in Moselle, France, from Daimler's parent group Mercedes-Benz to produce the Grenadier, which he boasts will be the best"utilitarian" vehicle in its class. That reaped immediate dividends as one of the team's riders, Colombian Egan Bernal, won the 2019 Tour de France.
Elsewhere, Ineos also ploughed £110 million into British sailor Ben Ainslie's Americas Cup team and sponsored Eliud Kipchoge's successful 2019 project to break the two-hour marathon mark.The glitzy world of high-end cars and international sport is a long way from Ratcliffe's humble beginnings, growing up in social housing in Manchester, northwest England.
Despite his business success, Ratcliffe has long been an enigma and privacy is also a hallmark of his Ineos group, which is not listed on the stock exchange and therefore has no obligation to disclose its accounts.