SIR Jim Ratcliffe, Britain's richest person, who has plans for a mansion in the New Forest, is moving from the UK to live in Monaco.

The move is to reduce paying taxes on his wealth, according to reports in national newspapers.

The founder and chief executive of petrochemicals company Ineos, Sir Jim, 65, is reckoned to be worth £21billion.

He spent six years trying to persuade the New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) to allow him to redevelop a secluded site overlooking the Solent. The two-hectare site at Thorns Beach, near Beaulieu, was occupied by a two-bedroom bungalow.

The entrepreneur suffered a series of setbacks, with one application after another being rejected on environmental grounds. But his never-say-die approach finally paid off in August 2017, when permission was granted.

He has not responded to requests for comment about his move and a spokesman for Ineos said it was a "personal matter."

Sir Jim has also been a prominent supporter of Brexit, saying the UK would thrive outside the European Union.

According to national newspapers, Sir Jim was ranked the UK’s richest person in May after he contacted the Sunday Times Rich List to complain that his wealth had been underestimated.

The list increased its estimate of his wealth by £15.3bn to £21bn after he provided access to the private accounts of Ineos, which he founded in 1998.

The newspaper also increased its valuation of his mansion near Beaulieu, in the New Forest, and his two superyachts, called Hampshire and Hampshire II.

He is the first British-born industrialist to top The Sunday Times Rich List.

Sir Jim is sinking some of his billions into Sir Ben Ainslie’s Portsmouth-based yacht-racing team's bid to win the America’s Cup.

Last year he announced a move into the car industry. He says he has had a “significant”interest from European countries to build its new 4x4 vehicle. The firm plans to build 25,000 vehicles a year from 2020 along the lines of the Land Rover Defender which went out of production in 2016.