A billionaire shipping tycoon who said the UK had “gone to hell” has put his £250 million ($517 million) London mansion up for sale after fleeing Britain.
John Fredriksen, a Norwegian marine tycoon, is reportedly selling his 300-year old Georgian manor in Chelsea just weeks after criticising Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, for abolishing the non-domicile tax regime.
“The entire Western world is on its way down.“: John Fredriksen at his offices in London.Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
The property, known as the Old Rectory, is one of Britain’s most expensive houses with two acres of gardens and 10 bedrooms across 30,000 square feet.
It is set to be put on the market with a £250 million price tag – with viewings already taking place, The Times reported.
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Fredriksen, who was the UK’s ninth-richest man with a £13.7 billion fortune before he announced his departure, bought the property in 2001 for around £40 million.
The 81-year-old businessman, who is originally from Oslo, Norway, last month said that Reeves’s tax raid had encouraged him to leave the UK and move to the United Arab Emirates.
“The entire Western world is on its way down,” he said, while the UK is “starting to remind me more and more of Norway. Britain has gone to hell, like Norway”.
The sale comes amid predictions that the UK is poised to lose more millionaires this year than any other country, which may fuel more high-end property sales.
