THOMAS ZILLIACUS has entered the race to own the master keys for Manchester United – but his bidding idea is bizarre.
The Finnish entrepreneur has vowed to finance £3billion of the asking price if fans can cough up a staggering £1.5bn.
And Zilliacus has already listed four aims he would wish to carry out should his bid be successful.
But who is he and what is his net worth?
Who is Thomas Zilliacus?
Born in 1964, Zilliacus was raised in Helsinki, Finland by a family with a largely royal background but now resides in Singapore.
Thomas’ great-great-grandfather, senator Henrik Wilhelm Johan Zilliacus was elected Mayor of Helsinki in 1866.
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His great-granduncle, Konni Zilliacus is the founder of the Finnish Activist Resistance Party which sought to liberate Finland from Russia.
And Zilliacus’ grand-uncle served as the head of the Finnish Millitary Academy and the Commander of the Finnish Civil Guard.
The billionaire went to the Zilliacuska skolan, a Swedish-language, private co-educational school established by his grandfather’s uncle Laurin Zilliacus before graduating in 1972 from the University of Helsinki as editor-in-chief of the national student paper.
But in a twist of events, Zilliacus spent one season in the youth academy of Fluminesense in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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However, he quickly returned to his political roots by becoming the youngest member of the Helsinki City Council.
What is his net worth?
Zlliacus’ net worth isn’t publicly known but it is widely believed that he is in the same tax bracket as rival Manchester United bidders Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim who both slapped £5billion on the table.
The Finnish businessman was once global head of Nokia’s corporate communications before becoming CEO of Nokia SouthEast Asia and chairman of Nokia Malaysia.
Thomas also founded Mobile FutureWorks Group, YuuZoo and Newkia.
And the Manchester United bidder has experience in the footballing industry as he was chairman of Finnish football club HJK Helsinki from 1982 to 1986.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
