Lakshmi Mittal

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Lakshmi Mittal

Born June 15, 1950 (1950-06-15) (age 57)
Sadulpur, Rajasthan, India
Residence Kensington, London
Occupation Chairman & CEO of Arcelor Mittal
Net worth ▲ $62.2 billion GBP [1]
Website
Profile on mittalsteel.com

Lakshmi Narayan Mittal[1] (or Lakshmi Niwas Mittal) (born June 15, 1950) is a London-based Indian billionaire industrialist, born in Sadulpur village, in the Churu district of Rajasthan, India, and resides in Kensington, London. He is the richest man in Europe and the fourth richest person in the world, with a personal fortune of US$45.0 billion according to Forbes magazine.[2][3]

The Financial Times named Lakshmi Mittal its 2006 Person of the Year. In May 2007, he was named one of the "100 most influential people" by Time magazine.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early years

Lakshmi spent his first years in India, living with his extended family on bare floors and rope beds in a house built by his grandfather. His family was from humble roots; his grandfather worked for the Tarachand Ghanshyamdas Poddar firm, one of the leading industrial firms of pre-independence India. His father started an Oil Mill in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, and nearly 80% of the that Mill's production used to be sold through the firm owned by Lala Gulab Chand.They eventually moved to Calcutta where his father, Mohan, became a partner in a steel company and made a fortune.

He graduated from St. Xavier's College in Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) with a Bachelor of Commerce degree[4] in Business and Accounting in 1969 [5].

[edit] Career

Lakshmi Mittal began his career working in the family's steelmaking business in India, and in 1976, when the family founded its own steel business, Mittal set out to establish its international division, beginning with the buying of a run-down plant in Indonesia. Shortly afterwards he married Usha, the daughter of a well-to-do moneylender. In 1994, due to differences with his father and brothers, he branched out on his own, taking over the international operations of the Mittal steel business, which was already owned by the family. Mittal's family never spoke publicly about the reason that caused the split.

[edit] The Mittal Affair: "Cash for Influence"

Main article: Mittal Affair

Controversy erupted in 2002 as Plaid MP Adam Price exposed the link between UK prime minister Tony Blair and Mittal in the Mittal Affair, also known as 'Garbagegate' or Cash for Influence.[6][7] [8] Mittal's LNM steel company, registered in the Dutch Antilles and maintaining less than 1% of its 100,000 plus workforce in the UK, sought Blair's aid in its bid to purchase Romania's state steel industry. [9] The letter from Blair to the Romanian government, a copy of which Price was able to obtain, hinted that the privatisation of the firm and sale to Mittal might help smooth the way for Romania's entry into the European Union.[10]

The letter had a passage in it removed just prior to Blair's signing of it, describing Mittal as "a friend."[11]

In exchange for Blair's support Mittal, already a Labour contributor, donated £125,000 more to Labour party funds a week after the 2001 UK General Elections, while as many as six-thousand Welsh steelworkers were laid off that same year, Price and others pointed out. As well as this, Mittal is a non resident indian residing in the United Kingdom for over 14 years. Because of this, he has been included on many unofficial Wealth-indicative lists as the richest man in the United Kingdom, when in actuality, the List held by the UK and Channel Island Treasury Authority lists no mention of name "Lakshmi(or derivatives) Mittal." Corus Group and Valkia Limited were two of the primary employers in south Wales, particularly in Ebbw Vale, Llanwern, and Port Talbot.[12].

[edit] Today

Since 2005, Mittal has been the richest person residing in the United Kingdom, the richest person in Asia and the 4th richest person on the planet. He is the President of the Board of Directors and CEO of ArcelorMittal; ArcelorMittal is the world's largest producer of steel, with assets in France, Belgium, Romania,Spain, Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, South Africa, Poland, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Bulgaria, United States, Trinidad, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. On July 13, 2005 it was announced that he had donated £2 million to the Labour Party, and on January 16, 2007 it was announced that he had donated a further £3 million.[citation needed]

[edit] Personal wealth

In March 2008, Mittal was reported to be the 4th wealthiest person in the world by Forbes Magazine (up from 61st richest in 2004) up one place since a year ago. The Mittal family owns 44% of Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel company.[13]

His residence at 18-19 Kensington Palace Gardens was bought from Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in 2004 for $128 million (£57 million), making it the world's most expensive house, at that date.[14]

Mittal has two children. His son, Aditya Mittal, is the CFO of Arcelor Mittal. Mittal paid over $60 million (£30 million) to host his daughter Vanisha Mittal's wedding celebration in Vaux le Vicomte on 22 June 2004 and an engagement ceremony at the Palace of Versailles on 20 June 2004, the world's most expensive wedding[citation needed]. He hosted a Bollywood night which included performances by superstars Rani Mukerji, Saif Ali Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. Kylie Minogue also sang on stage.[15]

Mittal's house in Kensington, London is decorated with marble taken from the same quarry that supplied the Taj Mahal. The extravagant show of wealth has been deemed the "Taj Mittal".[16]

[edit] Queens Park Rangers

Recently, Mittal had emerged as a leading contender to buy Barclays Premiership clubs Wigan and Everton. However on 20 December 2007 it was announced that the Mittal family had purchased a 20 per cent shareholding in Queens Park Rangers football club joining Flavio Briatore and Mittal's friend Bernie Ecclestone.[17] [18] As part of the investment Mittal's son-in-law, Amit Bhatia, took a place on the board of directors. The combined investment in the struggling club sparked suggestions that Mittal might be looking to join the growing ranks of wealthy individuals investing heavily in English football and emulating other similar benefactors such as Roman Abramovich.[19]

[edit] Charity

After witnessing India win only one medal, bronze, in the 2000 Olympics, and one medal, silver, at the 2004 Olympics, Mittal decided to set up Mittal Champions Trust with US$9 million to support 10 Indian athletes with world-beating potential.[20]

For Comic Relief 2007, he matched the money raised (~£1 million) on the celebrity special BBC programme, The Apprentice.

[edit] Criticism

Employees of Mittal have accused him of "slave labour" conditions after multiple fatalities in his mines.[21]

Lakshmi Mittal paid himself a bonus of GB£1.1bn [2] in 2004 after a takeover of a US-based steelmaker.

[edit] Awards

  • 2008: Padma Vibhushan
  • 2007: Bessemer Gold Medal
  • 2006: Person of the Year - Financial Times
  • 2004: European Businessman of the Year - Fortune magazine
  • 1998: Willy Korf Steel Vision Award - American Metal Market and PaineWeber’s World Steel Dynamics
  • 1996: Steelmaker of the Year - New Steel

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.investingvalue.com/investment-leaders/lakshmi-mittal/index.htm | Lakshmi Mittal Biography | accessdate=2007-07-21
  2. ^ #1 Lakshmi Mittal - Forbes.com
  3. ^ BBC NEWS | Business | Foreigners dominate UK rich list
  4. ^ http://www.investingvalue.com/investment-leaders/lakshmi-mittal/index.htm | Lakshmi Mittal Biography | accessdate=2007-07-21
  5. ^ Personalities in India - Personalities abroad -Lakshmi Mittal
  6. ^ Plaid reveals Labour steel cash link Monday, 11 February, 2002, extracted 11-01-07
  7. ^ Lakshmi Mittal, steel mill millionaire Thursday, 14 February, 2002, extracted 11-01-07
  8. ^ Q&A: 'Garbagegate' Thursday, 14 February, 2002 extracted 11-01-07
  9. ^ Q&A: 'Garbagegate' Thursday, 14 February, 2002 extracted 11-01-07
  10. ^ Plaid reveals Labour steel cash link Monday, 11 February, 2002, extracted 11-01-07
  11. ^ Q&A: 'Garbagegate' 14 February, 2002, extracted 11-01-07
  12. ^ Steel firm condemns 'Mittal aid' Monday, 18 February, 2002, 14:47 GMT extracted 11-01-07
  13. ^ "Mittal announces bid for rival Arcelor", The Guardian, January 27, 2006. 
  14. ^ "$128M Spend for London House", MSNBC, April 12, 2004. 
  15. ^ Welcome to WeddingSutra.com : Vanisha and Amit
  16. ^ Takeover Week: Billionaires Row (Rob) - Google Sightseeing
  17. ^ "QPR secure huge investment boost", BBC. Retrieved on 2007-12-20. 
  18. ^ F1 magnates to take over at QPR from BBC Sport
  19. ^ Lakshmi Mittal pushes QPR up the rich list by Kevin Garside, Daily Telegraph, 21 December 2007
  20. ^ DNA - Sport - Mittal’s Olympic dream is worth Rs 40 crore - Daily News & Analysis
  21. ^ UK’s richest man in slave labour row

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakshmi_Mittal"
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