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Lakshmi Mittal is now richest man in Britain
By siliconindia
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Thursday, 28 October 2004, 19:30 IST
LONDON: NRI business tycoon Lakshmi N Mittal, who is set to control the worldÂ’s largest steelmaker, has emerged as the richest man in Britain.
The historic merger of his steel conglomerate Ispat with its rival, International Steel Group of the US, to form Mittal Steel Coporation, reveals for the first time, the true scale of 54-year-old Mr MittalÂ’s personal wealth.
Mr Mittal, who ranked fifth in the ‘Sunday Times Rich List’ last year with an estimated fortune of $3.5bn, is now known to be worth $12bn, placing him ahead of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich ($7.5bn) and the Duke of Westminster ($4.9bn), The Independent daily reported on Tuesday.
Lavishing praise on his business acumen, the daily said, “He is as much at home in Kazakhstan, the maverick former Soviet Republic, where he controls not only the steel works but also the trams, as he is in 18/19 Kensington Palace Gardens, the 15-bedroom mansion with underground parking for 20 cars which he bought last year for $57m from the Formula one magnate, Bernie Ecclestone. His industrial empire stretches from Indonesia to Poland, via Mexico, the US, South Africa and Trinidad.”
The Daily Telegraph , reporting on the merger deal, said that “separate accounts released on Monday showed that Mr Mittal also paid himself a $2bn dividend this year, dwarfing the £460m dividend paid by Arcadia Group to retail entrepreneur Philip Green last week.”