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Sir Jim Ratcliffe: UK's richest man and Brexiteer is leaving the UK to live in Monaco and everyone is making the same point

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Picture:
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images/Twitter

Here is a story that seems depressingly inevitable and almost so farcical that it almost doesn't warrant any laughter.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe might not be a name that is immediately recognisable to most, but he just happens to be the richest man in the UK.

The 65-year-old who is the CEO of chemical firm Ineos and has an estimated fortune of £21 billion is leaving this shores and jetting off to live in luxurious Monaco on a permanent basis.

Oh... .and here's the kicker he supported Brexit.

Ratcliffe, who was knighted earlier this year and is pro-fracking, said during the 2016 referendum that he believed Britain would prosper outside of the European Union.

And in 2015 he told The Sunday Times:

The Brits are perfectly capable of managing the Brits and don’t need Brussels telling them how to manage things.

I just don’t believe in the concept of a United States of Europe. It’s not viable.

However, just three years down the line, he's now decided that he'd much rather spend his time in Europe, even if the UK can't.

In a story published by The Daily Telegraphit is reported that two of his top executives, Andy Currie and John Reece, will also be upping sticks and moving to Monte Carlo with him.

It's not entirely clear why Sir Ratcliffe is moving to Monaco. but we should point out that it is something of a tax haven.

Sir Ratcliffe has complained about Britain's tax regime in the past and in 2010 moved Ineos to Switzerland for four years in order to cut its own corporation tax.

Now, he's off to presumably slumming it in the sunshine and lifestyle that Monaco provides whilst we all get by on the mass quantities of great food and drink that will be available to us...

You honestly couldn't write this stuff.

As news of Sir Ratcliffe's imminent departure starts to do the rounds online everyone has been reacting in the best way they see fit by laughing hysterically at the irony of it all.

If you believe that the British public should have a final say on the Brexit deal please click here to sign The Independent's petition for a second referendum.

More: A man is writing 'Stop Brexit' across Europe with a van and GPS

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