Lakshmi Mittal

Lakshmi Mittal

Born: June 15, 1950, Sadulpur, Rajasthan, India. Age: 59 Country Of Citizenship: India Residence: London , United Kingdom, Europe & Russia Religious stance: Hinduism Occupation: Chairman & CEO of Arcelor Mittal Net worth: $51.0 billion USD Fortune: Inherited and growing Source: Steel Industry: Manufacturing Website: www.mittalsteel.com Marital Status: Married, 2 children Education: St Xavier's College Calcutta, Bachelor of Arts/ Science.

Biography

The London-based, Rajasthan-born steel baron is the Chairman and CEO of MittalCompany and the world’s 8th richest man. Lakshmi Narayan Mittal also known as Lakshmi Niwas Mittal is a billionaire industrialist, born in Rajasthan, India in 1950. Lakshmi graduated from St. Xavier’s College in Calcutta where he received a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He later married Usha Mittal, and had a son and daughter. Mittal began his career working in the family’s steelmaking business in India, and has over 30 years of experience working in steel and related industries. Mittal founded the company Mittal Steel (formerly the LNM Group) in 1976 and has been responsible for the development of its businesses ever since. Mittal Steel is a global steel producer with operations in 14 countries. Mittal pioneered the development of integrated mini-mills and the use of Direct Reduced Iron or “DRI” as a scrap substitute for steelmaking and led the consolidation process of the global steel industry. Mittal Steel is the largest steelmaker in the world, with shipments of 42.1 million tons of steel and profits of over $22 billion in 2004. Mittal was awarded Fortune magazines “European Businessman of the Year 2004” and also “Steelmaker of the Year” in 1996 by New Steel, and the “Willy Korf Steel Vision Award” in 1998, for outstanding vision, entrepreneurship, leadership and success in global steel development from American Metal Market and PaineWeber’s World Steel Dynamics. In 2002 he was involved in a political scandal with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, when a donation he made to the Labour party led to Blair's intervention in a business deal favoring Mittal. It was announced later that he donated £2 million to the Labour Party. Mittal is an active philanthropist and a member of a few trusts. Mittal is a member of the Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan, the International Investment Council in South Africa, the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council and the International Iron and Steel Institute’s Executive Committee. He is a Director of ICICI Bank Limited and is on the Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management in the U.S. In March 2005, Forbes Magazine named him the 3rd richest man in the world and the richest non-American, with an estimated wealth of US$25 billion.

He is the wealthiest person in Britain. His house in Kensington, bought in 2003 for $117 million is the most expensive house ever purchased. He also paid upwards of $55 million to host his daughter's wedding celebration in Versailles in 2004.

Career Mr. Mittal began his career working in the family's steelmaking business in India, and in 1976, when the family founded its own steel business, he set out to establish its international division, beginning with the buying of a rundown plant in Indonesia. Shortly afterwards he married Usha, the daughter of a well-to-do moneylender. In 1994, due to differences with his father, mother 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 reasons for the split.

The Mittal Affair: "Cash for Influence" 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. 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. 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. The letter had a passage in it removed just prior to Blair's signing of it, describing Mittal as "a friend."

Queens Park Rangers

Recently, Mittal had emerged as a leading contender to buy and sell 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. As part of the investment Mittal's sonin-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.

Personal wealth As of March 2009, Mittal is the world's 8th richest person with personal wealth of US$19.3 billion. In 2008, Mittal was reported to be the 4th wealthiest person in the world, and the wealthiest in Asia, by Forbes Magazine (up from 61st richest in 2004) up one place since a year before. The Mittal family owns a controlling majority stake in ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company.

Personal life 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. 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. His residence at Kensington Palace Gardens was purchased from Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in 2004 for £57 million (US$128 million), making it the world's most expensive house, at that date. It has 12 bedrooms, an indoor pool, Turkish baths and parking for 20 cars.

Kensington Gardens, currently owned by financier Noam Gottesman. The Guardian newspaper reported that the purchase price would be £127 million, which would set a record for the most expensive house ever sold in Britain. The paper noted that the house on "Billionaire's Boulevard" was expected to be the home of Mittal's son. 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". 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.

Charity After witnessing India win only one medal, bronze, in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and one medal, silver, at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Mittal decided to set up Mittal Champions Trust with US$9 million to support 10 Indian athletes with world-beating potential. In 2008 Mittal awarded Abhinav Bindra with Rs. 1.5 Crore, for getting India its first individual Olympic gold medal in shooting. For Comic Relief 2007, he matched the money raised (~£1 million) on the celebrity special BBC programme, The Apprentice. ArcelorMittal also has a very active CSR program under which it sets out its path to produce Safe Sustainable Steel. The company also operates the ArcelorMittal Foundation, which provides support to many different community projects around the world in the countries where ArcelorMittal operates.

Criticism and allegations 

Slave-labour allegations

Employees of Mittal have accused him of "slave labour" conditions after multiple fatalities in his mines. During December 2004, twenty-three miners died in explosions in his mines in Kazakhstan caused by faulty gas detectors. 

Self-bonus

Lakshmi Mittal paid himself a bonus totalling GB£1.1bn out of company funds in 2004 after a takeover of a U.S.-based steelmaker, ISG. 

Environmental damage

Lakshmi Mittal purchased the Irish Steel plant based in Cork from the Government for a nominal fee of £1. Three years later in 2001, it was closed, leaving 400 people redundant. Subsequent environmental issues at the site have been a cause for criticism. The Government tried to sue in the High Court to have him pay for the clean-up of Cork Harbour but failed. The clean up was expected to cost €70m.

Awards 

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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 Paine Weber’s World Steel Dynamics 1996: Steelmaker of the Year - New Steel

Conclusion Since 2005, Mittal has been the richest person residing in the United Kingdom. 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, Bosnia-Herzegovina, South Africa,

Poland, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Bulgaria, United States, Trinidad,Brazil 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. Although Mittal has been living abroad for many years, he claims he will remain an Indian.