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British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of chemicals group Ineos and co-owner of Manchester United, is spending his 74th birthday in Zimbabwe, where he began an eight-day private holiday in Victoria Falls.
Ratcliffe flew into Victoria Falls International Airport on Saturday. He marked his birthday on Sunday with a morning round at Elephant Hills, a golf course near the falls designed by South African golfer Gary Player.
"It is my birthday today, and we have chosen Zimbabwe for my birthday," Ratcliffe said in a video released by Zimbabwe's Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture. "We have chosen Zimbabwe because it's glorious. There are great golf courses and people are great. The weather is also fantastic."
He said he had spotted impala, warthog and bushbuck on the course.
Hwange and Mana Pools
The trip will take Ratcliffe from Victoria Falls to Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest game reserve, where he plans to spend about three nights, and then to Mana Pools on the lower Zambezi. Both Mana Pools and Victoria Falls are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
It is not his first trip down the river. Ratcliffe said he canoed about 80 to 100 kilometers of the Zambezi roughly a decade ago.
Tourism Minister Barbara Rwodzi sent a team to look after him during his stay, and Ratcliffe thanked her in the video, saying it was "very kind of you to send this gentleman over."
"In terms of hospitality, so far 10 out of 10. They can't be more friendly," he said. He also described Victoria Falls as "one of the wonders of the world."
Zimbabwe's government has been courting wealthy visitors and investors as it tries to rebuild a tourism industry that is still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. Victoria Falls, on the border with Zambia, is the country's main draw for foreign tourists.
From chemicals to football
Ratcliffe started Ineos in 1998 by buying a chemicals unit from BP and built it through a long run of acquisitions into one of the world's largest chemical makers. The privately held group also runs oil and gas operations, makes the Grenadier off-road vehicle and owns sports teams including the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team and French football club OGC Nice.
He bought a minority stake in Manchester United in 2024, a deal that gave him control of the club's football operations. His time at Old Trafford has included deep job cuts, higher ticket prices and plans for a new stadium.
An adventurer outside the boardroom, Ratcliffe has trekked to both the North and South poles.
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