This is the story of Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, who is an Indian-born Steel tycoon now based in the UK. He is the chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal which is the world’s largest manufacturers of steel.
Lakshmi Mittal was born in Sadulpur town in Rajasthan to a poor and conservative business class Marwari family. His father, Mohan Lal Mittal carried on a steel business Nippon Denro Ispat in Rajasthan. He completed his education in Kolkata and graduated in commerce from the University of Calcutta.
In 1976, because there were certain restraints in regulations for steel manufacturing in India he began his first PT Ispat Indo in Indonesia. By 1990’s Mittal possessed a cold-rolling mill for steel sheets and an alloy steel plant in Nagpur and Pune respectively. Currently, the family business operates separately near Mumbai with a large integrated steel plant.
Mittal holds a stake of 11% in Queens Park Rangers F.C. In 2005, he was ranked the third richest person in the world by Forbes. In 2017, Forbes ranked Mittal as 56th richest person in the world with a net worth of $14.5 billion. One of the BBC articles says that Mittal had built the foundations of his empire within two decades by carrying out business in the steel industry similar to a discount warehouse.
The Mittal group has made many donations. Mittal in the year 2008 made a donation of 15 million pounds to the well-known Ormond Street Hospital in London. Lakshmi Mittal launched Mittal Champions Trust after witnessing the great performance of India in the last few years in the Olympics. The trust was formed to encourage and support 10 Indian athletes who possessed the potential to beat the world. Abhinav Bindra was awarded by Mittal for winning the Gold Medal in shooting with Rs 1.5 crores.
Lakshmi Mittal bought the large mansion from Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone which was the world’s most expensive house around that time. He was named as the Business Person of the year 2006 by The Sunday Times. He has received a number of awards for his achievements. Mittal is well known for his extravagant lifestyle and staggering success.
(Photo Credit: Forbes, The Telegraph, Indian Express)
