Why Britain's Richest Man Won't Wear a Watch
August 11, 24
(IDEX Online) - Britain's richest man says he won't wear a watch in London, after a string of violent attacks by "Rolex rippers".
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is chairman and CEO of the Ineos chemicals group, part owner of Manchester United and has a net worth of $16bn, according to the Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.
"I can't wear a watch in London, and I just need to be a bit wary, a bit careful," he told the Sunday Times newspaper.
He said a man died outside his headquarters in Knightsbridge in an attack caught on the company's surveillance cameras.
"He died in a pool of blood because somebody tried to take his Rolex and he resisted."
Police in London have been cracking down on so-called Rolex rippers - gangs who target wealthy victims leaving pubs and nightclubs late at night in the capital's West End, and likely to have a Rolex, Patek Philippe, Richard Mille or Audemars Piguet on their wrist.
In January the Metropolitan Police said it had made 31 arrests, resulting in 21 convictions for stealing luxury watches.
CCTV pic, courtesy Metropolitan Police, shows a watch robbery in London.