tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72399762160952851582024-02-20T01:25:33.369-08:00Lakshmi MittalLakshmi Mittalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991625299429184559noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239976216095285158.post-80799637210224752252008-10-22T03:34:00.001-07:002008-10-22T03:34:54.489-07:00Top 10 Richest Person in the WorldThis <a href="http://wealthiestpeople.blogspot.com/"><b>list of the 10 wealthiest people</b></a> is a list of the world's 10 wealthiest people as of February 11, 2008, based on each person's total net worth. The total net worth is an estimate measured in United States dollars, based on the closing <span class="mw-redirect">stock prices</span> of the stock exchanges on which each person's company is listed, and exchange rates on February 11, 2008. Stock prices are defined as shares of ownership in a corporation, and exchange rates are defined as how much one currency is worth in terms of another. This list only represents each person's valuation on a single day due to daily fluctuations among exchange rates and stock valuations. The list does not include heads of state whose wealth is tied to their position (see <span class="mw-redirect">list of heads of government and state by net worth</span>).<br /><ol><li><a href="http://richwarrenbuffet.blogspot.com/">Warren Buffett (US)</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://richcarlosslimhelu.blogspot.com/"><span class="mw-redirect">Carlos Slim</span> (Mexico)</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://richbillgate.blogspot.com/">Bill Gates (US)</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://richlakshmimittal.blogspot.com/">Lakshmi Mittal (India)</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://richmukeshambani.blogspot.com/">Mukesh Ambani (India)</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://richanilambani.blogspot.com/">Anil Ambani (India)</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://richingvarkamprad.blogspot.com/"><strong style="font-weight: normal;" class="selflink">Ingvar Kamprad</strong> (Sweden)</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://richkushalpalsingh.blogspot.com/"><span class="mw-redirect">KP Singh</span> (India)</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://richolegderipaska.blogspot.com/">Oleg Deripaska (Russia)</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://richkarlalbrecht.blogspot.com/">Karl Albrecht (Germany)</a></li></ol>Lakshmi Mittalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991625299429184559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239976216095285158.post-27075967215526057502008-10-19T04:29:00.003-07:002008-10-19T04:29:53.057-07:00Awards<ul><li>2008: Padma Vibhushan</li><li>2007: Bessemer Gold Medal</li><li>2006: Person of the Year - <i>Financial Times</i></li><li>2004: European Businessman of the Year - <i>Fortune</i> magazine</li><li>1998: Willy Korf Steel Vision Award - <i>American Metal Market</i> and <i>PaineWeber’s World Steel Dynamics</i></li><li>1996: Steelmaker of the Year - <i>New Steel</i></li></ul>Lakshmi Mittalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991625299429184559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239976216095285158.post-64665331279590551902008-10-19T04:29:00.001-07:002008-10-19T04:29:34.293-07:00Criticism and allegations<h3><span class="mw-headline">Slave-labour allegations</span></h3> <p>Employees of Mittal have accused him of "slave labour" conditions after multiple fatalities in his mines.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference">[19]</sup> During December 2004, twenty-three miners died in explosions in his mines in Kazakhstan caused by faulty gas detectors.</p> <p><a name="Controversial_self-bonus" id="Controversial_self-bonus"></a></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline">Controversial self-bonus</span></h3> <p>Lakshmi Mittal paid himself a bonus totalling GB£1.1bn <span class="external autonumber">[1]</span> out of company funds in 2004 after a takeover of a US-based steelmaker, ISG.</p> <p><a name="Environmental_harm_for_self-gain" id="Environmental_harm_for_self-gain"></a></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline">Environmental harm for self-gain</span></h3> <p>Subsequent environmental issues at the site have been a cause for criticism. The Government tried to sue in the High Court to have him pay for the clean-up of Cork Harbour but failed. <span class="external autonumber">[2]</span></p> <p><a name="Others" id="Others"></a></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline">Others</span></h3> <p>Cash-for-influence or <span class="mw-redirect">Mittal affair</span> mentioned above.</p>Lakshmi Mittalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991625299429184559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239976216095285158.post-64863792016924255352008-10-19T04:28:00.002-07:002008-10-19T04:29:06.051-07:00Charity<p>After witnessing India win only one medal, bronze, in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and one medal, silver, at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Mittal decided to set up Mittal Champions Trust with US$9 million to support 10 Indian athletes with world-beating potential.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference">[18]</sup>.In 2008 Mittal awarded Abhinav Bindra with Rs. 1.5 Crore, for getting India its first individual Olympic gold medal in shooting.</p> <p>For <i><span class="mw-redirect">Comic Relief</span> 2007</i>, he matched the money raised (~£1 million) on the celebrity special BBC programme, <i><span class="mw-redirect">The Apprentice</span></i>.</p>Lakshmi Mittalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991625299429184559noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239976216095285158.post-65392305833689767162008-10-19T04:28:00.001-07:002008-10-19T04:28:48.572-07:00Biography<p>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.<sup class="noprint Template-Fact"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources since September 2008" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i>citation needed</i>]</span></sup> His family was from humble roots; his grandfather worked for the <span class="new">Tarachand Ghanshyamdas Poddar</span> 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 <span class="new">Lala Gulab Chand</span>. They eventually moved to <span class="mw-redirect">Calcutta</span> where his father, Mohan, became a partner in a steel company and made a fortune.</p> <p>He graduated from <span class="mw-redirect">St. Xavier's College</span> in <span class="mw-redirect">Calcutta</span> with a Bachelor of Commerce degree<sup id="cite_ref-IVBio_1-1" class="reference">[2]</sup> in Business and Accounting in 1969 <sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference">[7]</sup>.</p> <p><a name="Career" id="Career"></a></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline">Career</span></h3> <p>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.</p> <p><a name="The_Mittal_Affair:_.22Cash_for_Influence.22" id="The_Mittal_Affair:_.22Cash_for_Influence.22"></a></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline">The Mittal Affair: "Cash for Influence"</span></h3> <dl><dd> <div class="noprint relarticle mainarticle"><i>Main article: Mittal Affair</i></div> </dd></dl> <p>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 <i>Cash for Influence</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference">[8]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference">[9]</sup> <sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference">[10]</sup> Mittal's <span class="mw-redirect">LNM</span> steel company, registered in the <span class="mw-redirect">Dutch Antilles</span> 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. <sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference">[11]</sup> 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.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference">[12]</sup></p> <p>The letter had a passage in it removed just prior to Blair's signing of it, describing Mittal as "a friend."<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference">[13]</sup></p> <p>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 <span class="mw-redirect">laid off</span> 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 <span class="new">Valkia Limited</span> were two of the primary employers in south Wales, particularly in Ebbw Vale, Llanwern, and Port Talbot.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference">[14]</sup>.</p> <p><a name="Queens_Park_Rangers" id="Queens_Park_Rangers"></a></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline">Queens Park Rangers</span></h3> 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.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference">[15]</sup> <sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference">[16]</sup> 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.Lakshmi Mittalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991625299429184559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239976216095285158.post-10359044898836944692008-10-19T04:27:00.002-07:002008-10-19T04:28:13.218-07:00Personal wealth<p>In March 2008, Mittal was reported to be the 4th wealthiest person in the world, and the wealthiest in Asia, by <i><span class="mw-redirect">Forbes Magazine</span></i> (up from 61st. richest in 2004) up one place since a year ago. The Mittal family owns a controlling majority stake in <span class="mw-redirect">ArcelorMittal</span>, the world's largest steel company.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference">[4]</sup></p> <p>His residence at Kensington Palace Gardens was bought from Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in 2004 for £57 million (US$128 million), making it the world's most expensive house, at that date.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference">[5]</sup></p> <p>Kensington Gardens, currently owned by financier Noam Gottesman. The <span class="mw-redirect">Guardian newspaper</span> reported that the purchase price would be £127 million, which would set a record for the most expensive house ever sold in Britain. The paper noted that the house on "Billionaire's Boulevard" was expected to be the home of Mittal's son.</p> <p>Mittal's house in Kensington, London is decorated with marble taken from the same quarry that supplied the Taj Mahal. The extravagant show of wealth has been deemed the "Taj Mittal".<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference">[6]</sup> The <i>Financial Times</i> named Lakshmi Mittal its 2006 Person of the Year. In May 2007, he was named one of the "100 Most Influential People" by <i>Time</i> magazine.</p>Lakshmi Mittalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991625299429184559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7239976216095285158.post-82911325850070741192008-10-19T04:27:00.001-07:002008-10-19T04:27:39.234-07:00Lakshmi Mittal<b>Lakshmi Mittal</b><sup id="cite_ref-IVBio_1-0" class="reference">[2]</sup> (or <b>Lakshmi Narayan Mittal</b>, <span class="mw-redirect">Hindi</span>: <span lang="hi" lang="hi">लक्ष्मि नारायण मित्तल</span>, born 15 June 1950)<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference">[3]</sup> is a London-based Indian billionaire <span class="mw-redirect">industrialist</span>, born in Sadulpur village, in the Churu district of Rajasthan, India, and resides in Kensington, London.Lakshmi Mittalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17991625299429184559noreply@blogger.com0