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| Lakshmi Mittal |
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| RESULTS 2005 |
Ranking |
Worth |
Industry |
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1 |
£14,800m |
Steel |
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| Mittal, 54, pulled off a coup last October that astounded the worlds of steel and high finance. A three-way merger of LNM Holdings, his private steel business, with Ispat, a quoted firm in which he had a 77% stake, and International Steel Group, a US company, created the world's biggest steelmaker. The renamed Mittal Steel, quoted on the New York and Dutch stock markets, employs 165,000 workers and turned out 60m tonnes of steel last year. In February it announced £2.5 billion profit on £11.6 billion sales. We value the new group at £14.6 billion, making Mittal and his family's 88% stake worth £12.88 billion. He took a £1 billion dividend in 2004 and his family will take a further £140m this year. The recent acquisition of a 37% stake in Hunan Valin Iron & Steel gives Mittal a foothold in the huge Chinese market. Once LNM Capital, his £700m venture capital fund, and other assets are taken into account Mittal is worth £14.8 billion, the highest valuation achieved in 17 years of the Rich List and almost double that of Roman Abramovich when he topped the list last year. Although he likes to describe himself as a son of the desert from Rajasthan, Mittal learnt about business working in the family's Calcutta steel company. In 1976 he moved to Indonesia, where he founded a steel plant with backing from his father. By the mid-1980s he was a serious player in the world's steel markets. In 1995 he separated his operation from the family's businesses and settled in London, where he loves to live — though he retains an Indian passport. He has a £9m home in Hampstead, and reportedly paid £70m to Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone (qv) for a house in Kensington Palace Gardens. In June he spent £30m on his daughter Vanisha's wedding to Amit Bhatia, a banker. The six-day long Hindu wedding in Paris last June included a ceremony at the palace of Versailles and the wedding itself at the chateau of Vaux le Vicomte. Kylie Minogue was paid £200,000 to perform in front of the 1,000 guests. Further celebrations were held in India. |
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| RESULTS 2004 |
Ranking |
5 |
Worth |
2004: £3,500m |
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