Indian-born steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal boosted his fortune faster than anyone in the world over the past year to become the third richest person in the world, Forbes Magazine said on Thursday.
London-based Mittal, who built one of the world’s biggest steel empires, has a net worth of $25-billion, trailing only Microsoft chief Bill Gates ($46,5-billion) and United States investment guru Warren Buffett ($44-billion).
”Mittal had the biggest gain, increasing his net worth by $18,8-billion to $25-billion, placing him firmly in the top 10 at number three,” Forbes said in releasing its annual ranking of billionaires.
Born in Rajasthan, India, Mittal began his career in the early 1970s in his father’s small steel firm in the north of India. In Britain, he formed Mittal Steel through the merger of Ispat International NV and LNM Holdings NV. The combined entity is awaiting regulatory clearance to take over US-based ISG, after which it will be the largest steel group in the world.
The 54-year-old father of two was previously named by The Sunday Times as the richest Asian living in Britain.
But he gained notoriety for a donation to the Labour government that sparked a major political row.
Mittal’s sway appeared to reach into the highest echelons of British politics when British Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote a letter in 2001 in support of his firm LNM, which was bidding for a Romanian state-owned steel firm, Sidex.
Coming just weeks after Mittal donated 125 000 pounds to Blair’s Labour government, the letter sparked a ”cash for influence” scandal, though the prime minister denied any impropriety.
In 1976, the Mittal family emigrated to Indonesia, where Lakshmi Mittal started Ispat Indo.
He had one of his most notable successes in the late 1980s when he turned around a loss-making government-founded steel firm in Trinidad and Tobago.
The businessman has also been in the news for showering money on his two children. His daughter Vanisha’s wedding to Delhi-born investment banker Amit Bhatia last year is reputed to have cost more than $55-million, with five days of events at some of France’s most famous settings, including the 17th century Vaux le Vicomte chateau.
For the wedding of his son Aditya in 1998, the Mittal family celebrated at Calcutta’s Victoria Memorial, a choice which raised some eyebrows as it is home to mementos of Britain’s rule over India. – Sapa-AFP