Biography

Early years: Born in a Rajasthan Agrawal family, Lakshmi spent his initial years in India, living with his extended family on bare floors and rope beds in a house built by his grandfather.^{[citation needed]} His family was from humble roots; his grandfather worked for the Tarachand Ghanshyamdas Poddar firm, one of the leading industrial firms of pre-independence India. His father started a steel Mill in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, and nearly 80% of the Mill's production used to be sold through the firm owned by Lala Gulab Chand. They eventually moved to Calcutta where his father, Mohan, became a partner in a steel company and made a fortune.

He graduated from St. Xavier's College in Calcutta with a Bachelor of Commerce degree^[2] in Business and Accounting in 1969 ^[7].

Career

Lakshmi Mittal began his career working in the family's steelmaking business in India, and in 1976, when the family founded its own steel business, Mittal set out to establish its international division, beginning with the buying of a run-down plant in Indonesia. Shortly afterwards he married Usha, the daughter of a well-to-do moneylender. In 1994, due to differences with his father,mother and brothers, he branched out on his own, taking over the international operations of the Mittal steel business, which was already owned by the family. Mittal's family never spoke publicly about the reasons for the split.

The Mittal Affair: "Cash for Influence"

Main article: Mittal Affair

Controversy erupted in 2002 as Plaid MP Adam Price exposed the link between UK prime minister Tony Blair and Mittal in the Mittal Affair, also known as 'Garbagegate' or Cash for Influence.^{[8][9] [10]} Mittal's LNM steel company, registered in the Dutch Antilles and maintaining less than 1% of its 100,000 plus workforce in the UK, sought Blair's aid in its bid to purchase Romania's state steel industry. ^[11] The letter from Blair to the Romanian government, a copy of which Price was able to obtain, hinted that the privatisation of the firm and sale to Mittal might help smooth the way for Romania's entry into the European Union.^[12]

The letter had a passage in it removed just prior to Blair's signing of it, describing Mittal as "a friend."^[13]

In exchange for Blair's support Mittal, already a Labour contributor, donated £125,000 more to Labour party funds a week after the 2001 UK General Elections, while as many as six-thousand Welsh steelworkers were laid off that same year, Price and others pointed out. As well as this, Mittal is a non resident Indian residing in the United Kingdom for over 14 years. Because of this, he has been included on many unofficial Wealth-indicative lists as the richest man in the United Kingdom, when in actuality, the List held by the UK and Channel Island Treasury Authority lists no mention of name "Lakshmi(or derivatives) Mittal." Corus Group and Valkia Limited were two of the primary employers in south Wales, particularly in Ebbw Vale, Llanwern, and Port Talbot.^[14].

Queens Park Rangers

Recently, Mittal had emerged as a leading contender to buy Barclays Premiership clubs Wigan and Everton. However on 20 December 2007 it was announced that the Mittal family had purchased a 20 per cent shareholding in Queens Park Rangers football club joining Flavio Briatore and Mittal's friend Bernie Ecclestone.^{[15] [16]} As part of the investment Mittal's son-in-law, Amit Bhatia, took a place on the board of directors. The combined investment in the struggling club sparked suggestions that Mittal might be looking to join the growing ranks of wealthy individuals investing heavily in English football and emulating other similar benefactors such as Roman Abramovich.