British Billionaire Wants To Save Vopnafjörður

A chemical industrialist with a special fondness for Iceland is using his wealth to help step up nature conservation efforts in the Vopnafjörður area.

East Iceland news source Austurfrétt reports that billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has already purchased three plots of land through a holding company, and owns a stake in eight other plots through the Veiðiklúbbur Streng fishing club, all in the Vopnafjörður area.

Ratcliffe is a big fan of Iceland in general, and the Vopnafjörður area in general, where he does a considerable amount of vacationing and fishing. As such, he is both investing in and talking with area land owners about promoting nature conservation in the area. This will include trying to protect the Atlantic salmon stock that can be found there.

Ratcliffe is the fifth wealthiest man in Britain. His holdings total about $7 billion USD, or a few million dollars more than the entire Icelandic treasury holds.

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