Lakshmi Mittal

Born: 15 June 1950, Sadulpur, Churu district, Rajasthan
Known for: Executive Chairman of ArcelorMittal, one of the largest steel makers in the world

Early life

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal was born into a Marwari Agarwal family in Sadulpur, in the Churu district of Rajasthan. The large joint family lived simply in a house built by his grandfather, who had worked for Tarachand Ghanshyamdas, one of the leading Marwari trading firms of the time. The family later moved to Calcutta, where his father ran a small steel business and Lakshmi Mittal graduated in commerce from St. Xavier's College.

Building a steel company

In 1976 he set up a steel plant in Indonesia. Over the next three decades he bought loss-making steel plants in many countries and turned them around, building Mittal Steel into a world leader. In 2006 Mittal Steel merged with the European steel maker Arcelor after a long and widely followed takeover battle. The combined company, ArcelorMittal, became the largest steel maker in the world at that time and remains one of the largest today.

In 2019 ArcelorMittal, together with Nippon Steel of Japan, bought Essar Steel in India. The business now runs as AM/NS India.

Recognition

In 2005 Forbes magazine ranked him the third richest person in the world. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.

Today

In 2021 he handed the post of Chief Executive to his son, Aditya Mittal, and continues as Executive Chairman of ArcelorMittal.