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Who are the four billionaires linked with buying out Roman Abramovich at Chelsea?

After almost 19 years and 21 trophies, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is intent on selling the club. And despite the reported £3billion asking price, there is no shortage of interest.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has thrown the spotlight on Abramovich's financial dealings amid claims of his close ties with Vladimir Putin. With the threat of sanctions hanging over him, a sale would have to be wrapped up pretty swiftly and a number of interested parties have already shown their hand.

Planet Sport looks at the possible contenders to take control at Chelsea.

Hansjorg Wyss

Net worth: £4billion

The 86-year-old has revealed his intention to bid for the club alongside USA investor Todd Boehly, claiming he had been offered the chance to buy Chelsea from Abramovich.
Wyss - now based in America - is the founder of medical device manufacturing giant Synthes and a keen environmentalist.

The Swiss billionaire - labelled as 'one of the most philanthropic people in the world' by Forbes - sold his company to Johnson & Johnson for £14billion in 2012.

His standout donation was to two universities in Zurich (University of Zurich and ETH Zurich) which totalled an incredible £89million.

Todd Boehly

Net worth: £4billion

Boelhy - reportedly set to join forces with Wyss - attempted to buy Chelsea in 2019 but his bid of more than £2billion was rejected by Abramovich.

The American tycoon, 46, is the chairman and CEO of private investment firm Eldridge Industries.

Boelhy, who studied at the London School of Economics, is a co-owner of baseball team the Los Angeles Dodgers and also owns a stake in basketball's Los Angeles Lakers.

Boehly is known for his charity work and is involved with helping the Prostate Cancer Foundation. He also joined the Dave Thomas Foundation in 2019 for Adoption - the only non-profit charity in North America dedicated to finding permanent homes for children in foster care.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Net worth: £6.33billion

Ratcliffe was the UK's richest man in 2018 with a reported worth of £12billion, according to the Sunday Times.

However, in 2021 he was ranked as the 25th richest Brit with his wealth shrinking to £6.33billion.

Based in Monaco, Ratcliffe is the founder, chairman and majority owner of chemical powerhouse Ineos Group.
An estimated 19,000 people are employed at Ineos - a company which makes fuels and lubricants, construction materials and food packaging.

In 2018, Ineos had a turnover of £45billion and was worth £35billion but as of 2021, it was valued at £10billion.

Interestingly, Ratcliffe has a season ticket at Stamford Bridge despite claiming to be a Manchester United fan.

If Ratcliffe becomes the new owner of Chelsea then it won't be the first time he has dipped his toes into the sporting world. In 2019, he put £91million into Ligue 1 side Nice. Ratcliffe also owns British cycling team Ineos Grenadiers which is managed by Dave Brailsford and numbers Geraint Thomas, Egan Bernal and Richie Porte among its riders. 

Stephen Ross

Net worth: £6billion

Now this would create quite the stir.

American Ross was one of the brains behind the failed European Super League project.

Six Premier League teams initially agreed to join it alongside the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona but within 48 hours the idea collapsed following a revolt from fans in England.

Elsewhere, Ross - under Relevent Sports Group - created the International Champions Cup in 2013. It's a tournament which sees Europe's biggest teams play each other in pre-season.
Ross - who made billions as a real estate developer - is also the owner of NFL team the Miami Dolphins and their Hard Rock Stadium. He purchased both in 2009 for a reported £830million.

READ MORE: How does Roman Abramovich's time at Chelsea compare to Daniel Levy's at Spurs?

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