Who is Leon Cooperman? Profile and net worth of US billionaire after Manchester United takeover twist

The Manchester United takeover saga took another twist on Tuesday evening amid reports of late investment from American billionaire Leon Cooperman.

Bloomberg initially reported that Cooperman, 80, had filed just under one million shares in United, which is currently valued at $16.8million (£13.46m). News of the investment also saw the club's stock price rise 2.24% to its highest point since the start of November.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected to have his £1.4billion investment, in return for a 25pc stake, ratified during the international break. The INEOS chief will take charge of footballing operations and is expected to reshuffle the club hierarchy.

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But the reports on Tuesday of Cooperman's investment provided yet another late twist to an almost year-long takeover process.

Cooperman was born in New York in 1943. He was the son of Polish immigrants and part of a self-proclaimed 'lower-middle class' family - his father was a plumber.

Having received a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, he joined Goldman, Sachs & Co. where he would spend 25 years. The finance expert worked his way up at the investment banking company, taking on several senior roles including chairman of the Stock Selection Committee.

Cooperman left Goldman, Sachs & Co. in 1991, having built their asset management division, and was considered a legend on Wall Street. The very next day, he founded the hedge fund, Omega Advisors

Cooperman shut down the hedge fund in 2018, returning money to investors in order to focus on his own personal wealth. At the time, Omega Advisors managed