Lakshmi Mittal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lakshmi Mittal
|
|
|---|---|
Mittal in 2013
|
|
| 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 Mittal was born in Sadulpur, Rajasthan, India, on June 15, 1950. He is a very successful businessman known as a "steel magnate." This means he is a leader in the steel industry. Mr. Mittal lives in the United Kingdom.
He is the executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, which is one of the largest steelmaking companies in the world. He also leads Aperam, a company that makes stainless steel. Mr. Mittal owns a large part of ArcelorMittal. He also has a small share in the Queens Park Rangers football club.
Over the years, Forbes magazine has often listed Mr. Mittal among the richest people in the world. In 2005, he was ranked as the third-richest person globally. He was the first Indian citizen to be in the top ten on this list. In 2011, he was the sixth-richest person. By October 2024, he was ranked 130th. He was also named one of the "Most Powerful People" by Forbes in 2015.
Mr. Mittal has been a member of the board of directors for Goldman Sachs since 2008. He is also part of important groups like the World Steel Association and the World Economic Forum's International Business Council. These groups bring together top business leaders from around the world.
In 2005, The Sunday Times named him "Business Person of 2006." The Financial Times called him "Person of the Year." Time magazine also named him "International Newsmaker of the Year 2006." In 2007, Time magazine included him in their "Time 100" list of the most influential people.
Contents
Early Life and Business Start
Lakshmi Mittal grew up in a Marwari Hindu family. He went to school in Kolkata from 1957 to 1964. He later earned a B.Com degree from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata.
Starting His Own Steel Company
Lakshmi's 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 happened because the Indian government had rules that limited steel production in India.
Expanding the Steel Business
In 1989, Mr. Mittal bought steel factories in Trinidad and Tobago that were losing a lot of money. He managed to make them profitable within just one year. This showed his skill in business.
By the 1990s, his family's main businesses in India included a cold-rolling mill and an alloy steels plant. Today, his younger brothers, Pramod Mittal and Vinod Mittal, run the family business in India. Lakshmi Mittal is no longer involved with those operations.
In 1995, Mr. Mittal bought the Irish Steel plant in Cork, Ireland, for a very small price. However, this plant closed just six years later in 2001. This closure meant over 400 people lost their jobs.
Major Company Acquisitions
Before 2001, Mittal had already bought steel companies that he renamed Ispat Mexicana and Ispat Karmet in Kazakhstan. In November 2001, he acquired Sidex Galati and renamed it Ispat Sidex.
In October 2003, his company, the LNM Group, bought steel companies in Romania. The day before, they had also taken over the PHS Steel Group from the Polish government. This group included several large steel mills in Poland.
In 2006–2007, Mr. Mittal successfully took over Arcelor, another large steel company. He then combined it with his own company to form ArcelorMittal. This made his company even bigger and gave him control of major steel assets in France, Luxembourg, and Spain.
Giving Back to the Community
Supporting Sports
Mr. Mittal noticed that India won very few medals in the Olympic Games. After the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, he decided to create the Mittal Champions Trust. He put $9 million into this trust to help ten Indian athletes who had the potential to win at a world level.
In 2008, when Abhinav Bindra won India's first individual Olympic gold medal in shooting, Mr. Mittal awarded him a large sum of money. ArcelorMittal also provided the steel for building the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Mr. Mittal also helped raise money for Comic Relief, a charity event. He matched the money raised on a special TV show called The Apprentice.
In 2007, the Mittal 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 Mr. Mittal's interest in English football.
Helping Education
In 2003, the Lakshmi Niwas Mittal and Usha Mittal Foundation worked with the Government of Rajasthan to create a university. This university is called the LNM Institute of Information Technology (LNMIIT) in Jaipur, India. It is a non-profit organization.
In 2009, the Foundation also helped start the Usha Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management in New Delhi. The SNDT Women's University also renamed its Institute of Technology for Women (ITW) to Usha Mittal Institute of Technology after a large donation from the Lakshmi Niwas Mittal Foundation.
Supporting Medical Care
In 2008, the Mittals gave £15 million to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. This was the largest 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, Mr. Mittal made a large donation to the PM Cares Fund in India.
Personal Life
Lakshmi Mittal is married to Usha Dalmia. They have a son, Aditya Mittal, and a daughter, Vanisha Mittal.
Mr. Mittal has two brothers, Pramod Mittal and Vinod Mittal, and a sister, Seema Lohia. His sister is married to Indonesian businessman Sri Prakash Lohia.
In 2004, Mr. Mittal bought a house at 18–19 Kensington Palace Gardens in London for £67 million. At the time, it was the most expensive house in the world. The house is decorated with marble from the same place that supplied the Taj Mahal. People sometimes call it the "Taj Mittal." It has 12 bedrooms, an indoor pool, Turkish baths, and parking for 20 cars. Mr. Mittal is a vegetarian.
In 2008, he bought another house nearby for £70 million for his daughter Vanisha Mittal. She is married to Amit Bhatia, who is a businessman. Mr. Mittal held a grand vegetarian reception for Vanisha at the Palace of Versailles in France.
In 2005, he also bought a large house in New Delhi, India, for $30 million. This street is known for its embassies and wealthy residents.
His Wealth Over Time
Mr. Mittal's wealth has changed over the years. In 2008, his net worth was estimated at £27.70 billion by The Sunday Times and $45.0 billion by Forbes. He was ranked as the fourth-wealthiest person in the world that year.
By 2016, his wealth was estimated at £7.12 billion by The Sunday Times and $8.4 billion by Forbes. As of 2024, Forbes estimates his net worth to be $16.4 billion. He is ranked as the 113th richest person globally and the 13th wealthiest person in India. In October 2024, he was ranked 15th on Forbes' list of India’s 100 richest business leaders, with a net worth of $16.7 billion.
Awards and Honours
Mr. Mittal has received many awards for his achievements in business and industry.
- 2008: Padma Vibhushan from the Government of India. This is India's second-highest civilian award.
- 2008: Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award from Forbes magazine.
- 2007: Fellowship from King's College London.
- 2007: Bessemer Gold Medal from IOM3 (Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining).
- 2004: European Businessman of the Year from Forbes.
- 2004: Entrepreneur of the Year from The Wall Street Journal.
- 2004: 8th honorary Willy Korf Steel Vision Award.
- 1996: Steel Maker of the Year from New Steel.
See also
In Spanish: Lakshmi Mittal para niños
