Lakshmi Narayan Mittal (लक्ष्मी मित्तल; born 15 June 1950) is an Indian steel magnate. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaking company.
Mittal is the richest man in India, Asia and the United Kingdom, and second in Europe and is presently the sixth richest individual in the world with a personal wealth of US$31.1 billion. He is the 44th "most powerful person" of the 68 individuals named in Forbes's Most Powerful People list. His daughter Vanisha Mittal's wedding was the most expensive in the recorded history of the world.
Mittal is an independent director of Goldman Sachs, member of Board of Directors to Goldman Sachs Media/Film IP Group, member of the Board of Directors of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, World Steel Association, Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan, the International Investment Council in South Africa, the Investors' Council to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, the World Steel Association's Executive Committee, the Presidential International Advisory Board of Mozambique and the International Iron and Steel Institute’s Executive Committee.
He also presently serves as a board council member of the Prime Minister of India's Global Advisory Council of Overseas Indians. and members in the Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management, Executive Board at Indian School of Business and St. Xavier's College, Calcutta Alumni Association, London Chapter.
In 2006, Financial Times named him "Person of the Year". In 2007, Time magazine included him in their "100 most influential persons in the world".
Early life and education
Lakshmi Narayan Mittal alias Lakshmi Niwas Mittal was born into a Marwari business family in Churu district of Rajasthan, India. His family moved from (Rajgarh)Sadulpur, Rajasthan to Calcutta in West Bengal. He graduated from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in business and accounting with first class. He has two siblings (brothers) named Pramod Mittal and Vinod Mittal. His father, Mohan Lal Mittal, ran a steel business, Nippon Denro Ispat. Until the 1990s, the family's main assets in India were a cold-rolling mill for sheet steels in Nagpur and an alloy steels plant near Pune. Today, the family business, including a large integrated steel plant near Mumbai, is run by Lakshmi's brothers, Pramod and Vinod, but Lakshmi has no connection with it.
Mittal started his career working in the family's steel making 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 run-down plant in Indonesia. Shortly afterwards he married Usha, the daughter of a well-to-do moneylender. In 1976, due to differences with his father, mother and brothers,branched out on his the LNM Group, and he 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 50 million tons of steel and profits of over $22 billion in 2004.
Philanthropy
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 (Rs. 15 million), 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.
Personal life
His residence at 18-19 Kensington Palace Gardens--which was purchased from Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in 2004 for £57 million (US$128 million)--made it the world's most expensive house at the time. 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 referred to as the "Taj Mittal". It has 12 bedrooms, an indoor pool, Turkish baths and parking for 20 cars.
Mittal bought No. 6 Palace Greens, Kensington Gardens, formerly owned by financier Noam Gottesman, at £117 million for his son Aditya Mittal who is married to Megha Mittal, owner and director of the Board of the German fashion luxury brand Escada.
Mittal bought No. 9A Palace Greens, Kensington Gardens, formerly the British Philippines embassy, at £70 million in 2008 for his daughter Vanisha Mittal Bhatia Bhatia who is married to Amit Bhatia a businessman and a philanthropist.
Mittal owns three prime properties collectively worth £500 million on the "Billionaire's Row" at Kensington Palace Gardens.
Mittal also owns another London home at 46B, The Bishops Avenue called the Summer Palace. It's dubbed as "Millionaires Row" and is reportedly for sale at £40 million.
Mittal also owns a 5,500 sq ft penthouse apartment at 148-150 Old Park Lane London, just above Hard Rock Cafe which he purchased for £7 million in July 2002 from Lord Alan Sugar.
In 2005, he also bought a colonial bungalow for $30 million at No. 22, Aurangzeb Road in New Delhi, India, the most exclusive street in the city occupied by embassies and millionaires, and rebuilt it as a house.
In January 2011, Lakshmi Mittal bought a luxury home in Scotland. Mittal has knocked down a £4 million property to build his new home, valued at around £15 million, making it Scotland’s most expensive home. The Mittal mansion is coming up in one of the most elite neighborhoods, right near the Gleneagles golf course in Perthshire County. This luxury villa has six bedrooms and two kitchens. The wallpaper and furniture are from Ralph Lauren’s home collection. The wooden flooring and tiles were imported from Germany and a luxury bathroom is estimated to be worth £80,000.
Mittal is now planning to build a "Zero Carbon" footprint estate in Surrey, a 340-acre estate also called Alderbrook Park which was built as a country estate during the 19th century but was part-demolished in the 1950s and replaced with a less-attractive home. He purchased the estate for £5.25 million and is planning to spend £25 million on it to make it 100 per cent self-sufficient and eco-friendly. The unique modern design will not only ensure the house is zero-carbon, but will make the entire 340-acre estate carbon negative. The house will be built on a stone plinth, which will provide various terraces on which to enjoy the cocktail hour. It will have at least 10 bedrooms, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, a fitness centre, an under-ground art gallery, tennis courts, sculpture garden, an arboretum and croquet lawn.
From : www.wikipedia.org
