Described as the chemical industry’s “answer to Lakshmi Mittal (qv)”, the low-profile Ratcliffe is on track with his ambition to create a world-beating chemicals company. His Ineos Group, which employs 15,500 people in 14 countries, beat private equity rivals in its £5 billion acquisition of BP’s Innovene division in 2005 and now plans to construct a £125m plant in China by the end of 2009. Ineos, based in the New Forest, has become the world’s third-largest chemicals company and the largest producer of chemicals such as acetone, phenol and car air-conditioning fluids. Ratcliffe, 54, spent 15 years at Esso Petroleum and Courtaulds before joining venture capital firm Advent International. In 1992 he left Advent and led the management buyout of an earlier offshoot of BP, its speciality chemicals division, which became Inspec. It floated in 1994 and four years later was taken over for £611m by Laporte. Armed with his £28m windfall, Ratcliffe headed a buyout team that acquired Ineos from Inspec in a £90.5m deal in 1998. A series of bold takeovers followed and he bought chunks of ICI, Dow and Degussa. The combined Ineos and Innovene operation made more than £414m profit on £15.2 billion sales in 2005. The net assets of the combined group stand at about £6.5 billion. While we would normally value the group near these net assets, we are more cautious in the volatile markets and settle for £4.8 billion, which implies a £3.2 billion valuation on Ratcliffe’s stake. He has a £100m stake in the separate Ineos Chlor operation.

RESULTS 2006 Ranking: 45= Worth: £1,100m Industry: Chemicals