Lakshmi Mittal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lakshmi Mittal
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Mittal in 2013
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| Born | 15 June 1950 |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Alma mater | St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, (B.Com.) |
| Occupation | Chairman of ArcelorMittal & Aperam Owner of Karrick Limited Co-owner of Queens Park Rangers F.C. |
| Known for | Steel magnate King of Steel |
| Board member of | Goldman Sachs |
| Spouse(s) | Usha Mittal |
| Children | 2, including Aditya Mittal |
| Relatives | Pramod Mittal (brother) |
| Family | Mittal family |
| Awards | Padma Vibhushan (2008) |
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal (born 15 June 1950) is a very successful businessman from India. He is known as a "steel magnate" because he built a huge business empire around making steel. He lives in the United Kingdom.
Mittal is the boss of ArcelorMittal, which is one of the biggest steel companies in the world. He also leads another company called Aperam that makes stainless steel. He owns a big part of ArcelorMittal. He also owns a small part of the football team Queens Park Rangers.
In 2005, a magazine called Forbes said he was the third richest person in the world. He was the first person from India to be in the top ten of this list. His daughter Vanisha Mittal's wedding in 2005 was one of the most expensive weddings ever.
Mittal is part of many important groups. He is on the board of directors for Goldman Sachs, a big financial company. He also helps lead the World Steel Association. He is part of several international business councils that bring together top leaders from around the world.
Magazines have given him many awards. The Sunday Times called him "Business Person of 2006". Financial Times named him "Person of the Year". Time magazine also put him on their "Time 100" list of influential people.
Contents
Early Life and Steel Business Journey
Lakshmi Mittal was born into a Marwari Hindu family in India. He went to school in Kolkata from 1957 to 1964. Later, he earned a degree in Commerce from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata.
His father, Mohanlal Mittal, had a steel business. In 1976, when Lakshmi was 26, he started his own steel factory. It was called PT Ispat Indo and was located in Indonesia. This was because the Indian government limited steel production at the time.
Mittal was very good at turning struggling businesses around. In 1989, he bought state-owned steel factories in Trinidad and Tobago. These factories were losing a lot of money. But Mittal made them profitable in just one year.
By the 1990s, his family's main steel businesses in India were run by his younger brothers. Lakshmi Mittal focused on his own international steel ventures.
In 1995, Mittal bought the Irish Steel plant in Cork, Ireland. He bought it from the government for a very small price. However, the plant closed six years later in 2001. This meant over 400 people lost their jobs. There were also environmental issues at the site afterward. The cleanup of Cork Harbour was expected to cost a lot of money.
Mittal continued to buy steel companies around the world. He acquired businesses in Mexico and Kazakhstan. In 2001, he bought Sidex Galati in Romania. In 2003, his company also took over several steel assets from the Polish government.
There have been concerns about safety in some of his mines. For example, in December 2004, 23 miners died in accidents in his mines in Kazakhstan. These accidents were caused by faulty gas detectors.
In 2006–2007, Mittal made a big move to take over another large steel company called Arcelor. This was a "hostile takeover," meaning Arcelor's leaders didn't want the deal at first. But Mittal succeeded and renamed the combined company Arcelor Mittal. This made his company even bigger, adding steel assets from France, Luxembourg, and Spain.
Helping Communities and Sports
Supporting Sports in India
Lakshmi Mittal noticed that India wasn't winning many medals at the Olympic Games. After the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, he decided to help. He set up the Mittal Champions Trust with $9 million. This trust helps talented Indian athletes who have the potential to win big.
In 2008, when Abhinav Bindra won India's first individual Olympic gold medal in shooting, Mittal gave him a reward of 15 million Indian Rupees. His company, ArcelorMittal, also provided the steel for the ArcelorMittal Orbit. This is a famous tower built for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Mittal also supported the charity Comic Relief. He matched the money raised on a special TV show called The Apprentice.
Investing in Football
Mittal became interested in English football. In 2007, his family bought a 20 percent share in the Queens Park Rangers football club. His son-in-law, Amit Bhatia, joined the club's board of directors. This investment showed that wealthy people were starting to put a lot of money into English football teams.
Helping Education
Mittal has also supported education. In 2003, his foundation worked with the Government of Rajasthan to create a university. It's called the LNM Institute of Information Technology (LNMIIT) in Jaipur.
In 2009, his foundation helped start the Usha Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management in New Delhi. Another university, SNDT Women's University, renamed its Institute of Technology for Women as the Usha Mittal Institute of Technology. This was after a large donation from the Lakshmi Niwas Mittal Foundation.
Medical Support
In 2008, the Mittal family gave a huge donation of £15 million to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. This was the biggest private donation the hospital had ever received. The money helped build a new part of the hospital called the Mittal Children's Medical Centre.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in India in 2020, he donated 100 crore Indian Rupees to the PM Cares Fund.
Personal Life and Homes
Lakshmi Mittal is married to Usha Dalmia. They have a son named Aditya Mittal and a daughter named Vanisha Mittal.
He has two brothers, Pramod Mittal and Vinod Mittal, and a sister, Seema Lohia.
Mittal owns some very impressive homes. In 2004, he bought a house at 18–19 Kensington Palace Gardens in London. He bought it for £67 million, which made it the most expensive house in the world at the time. The house is so grand that it's sometimes called the "Taj Mittal." It has 12 bedrooms, an indoor swimming pool, and parking for 20 cars.
In 2008, he bought another house nearby for £70 million for his daughter Vanisha. For Vanisha's wedding reception, he held a grand vegetarian party at the Palace of Versailles in France.
He also bought and rebuilt a colonial bungalow in New Delhi, India, for $30 million. This street is one of the most exclusive in India.
Lakshmi Mittal is a lacto-vegetarian, meaning he eats dairy products but no meat, fish, or eggs.
His Wealth
Lakshmi Mittal is one of the richest people in the world. His wealth has changed over the years due to the ups and downs of the steel industry.
In 2008, his wealth was at its highest, estimated at £27.70 billion by The Sunday Times and $45.0 billion by Forbes. This made him the fourth-wealthiest person globally.
By 2024, Forbes estimated his net worth to be around $16.4 billion. He is ranked as the 113th richest person globally and the 13th wealthiest person in India.
Awards and Recognitions
| Year of award or honour | Name of award or honour | Awarding organisation |
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| 2008 | Padma Vibhushan | Government of India |
| 2008 | Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award | Forbes |
| 2007 | Fellowship | King's College London |
| 2007 | Bessemer Gold Medal | IOM3 |
| 2004 | European Businessman of the Year | Forbes |
| 2004 | Entrepreneur of the Year | The Wall Street Journal |
| 2004 | 8th honorary Willy Korf Steel Vision Award | American Metal Market and World Steel Dynamics |
| 1996 | Steel Maker of the Year | New Steel |
See also
In Spanish: Lakshmi Mittal para niños
Images for kids
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Mittal in 2013
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Mittal's residence, 18–19, Kensington Palace Gardens, London
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The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Padma Vibhushan to Shri Lakshmi Niwas Mittal
