Steel Billionaire Lakshmi Mittal Plans Green Mega Estate

Net Worth: $31.1 billion (up from $28.7 billion)

Age: 60

Fortune: Inherited and growing

Source: Steel, ArcelorMittal ADS

Country of Citizenship: India

Residence: London, United Kingdom

Marital Status: Married, two children

Education: BA/BS, St Xavier’s College Calcutta

Net profits at his ArcelorMittal, world’s largest steel-maker, are up 18-fold to $2.9 billion in 2010 due to recovery in steel demand and higher margins. Group spun off its stainless steel unit into Aperam, a new listed company, and also acquired Canadian miner Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation. It has funded a 377-foot sculpture called ArcelorMittal Orbit in London’s Olympic Park for the 2012 Olympics. Europe’s richest resident, he bought Alderbrook Park, a 340-acre country estate outside London, where he plans to build an eco-friendly country mansion for a reported $40 million. Daughter Vanisha acquired stake in Roc Capital Management, a New York hedge fund. Daughter-in-law Megha owns German fashion house Escada.

Steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal is going green. He's already hard at work on the most expensive estate in Scotland but he's also turning a country estate in southeastern England into a new green palace. The home, Alderbrook Park was built as a country estate during the 19th century but that home was partially demolished and replaced with a less attractive one in the 1950s.

Now Mittal, one of the world's ten richest men, plans to create the ultimate green estate. Plans including using outdoor temperature differences to create natural air conditioning and an ambitious idea to grow enough wood to feed large boilers to provide heating and hot water. Workers at the home will cut down 110 tons of wood a year for the boilers but plant trees to replace them. Solar panels on the roofs of two outbuildings will also provide electricity. Steel tubes will draw cool air from the estate's wooded areas in the summer and in the winter, solar-heated air will be drawn down from the roofs to add additional warmth.

Mittal bought the home for a reported £5.25 million but is expected to spend another £25 million making it conform to his customizations. He will need approval from the local planning authority to develop the estate. The only issue, according to The Telegraph India, may be the preservation of badger habitats on the estate. The badgers are protected and Mittal will need to prove they will not be harmed. The home will have at least 10 bedrooms, indoor and outdoor pools, and underground art gallery, tennis courts and a croquet lawn.

Early Genesis

Lakshmi Mittal also known by the name of Lakshmi Narayan Mittal was born in the year 1950 in a village located at the Churu district of Rajasthan. He shifted to Kolkata with his family and graduated from the St. Xavier's College in Kolkata with a brilliant result in commerce. Besides being an extraordinary student he was also a regular participant in the creative events and sports in his school and college days. After passing out from college, Laxmi Mittal joined his family business and afterwards went to Indonesia to establish the international branch of his family business. Eventually he took control of the entire international branch of the Mittal family business and led it to prosperity.

Today he is believed to be the owner of 32 Billion US dollars that makes him the fifth richest person on earth and the wealthiest person living in United Kingdom according to Forbes. Today he has his business spread in several nations of the country that include United States, Canada, South Africa, Poland, France, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania Czech Republic, Indonesia and Kazakhstan. Besides manufacturing steel, the Mittal industry also deals in the field of power generation, shipping, distribution and mining.

Personal life

Lakshmi Mittal is married with two children Aditya Mittal and Vanisha Mittal. It is said that Vanisha's wedding was the most expensive wedding till date that was attended by all the eminent personalities of the world and celebrities who performed on the occasion. His house is famous all over the world for its architecture and opulent decoration.

Awards & Recognition

Laxmi Mittal has achieved several awards and accolades for his contribution to the steel manufacturing industry and commercial sector of the world. Some of the numerous awards achieved by him include - 'European Businessman of the Year 2004' by Fortune magazine,

'Steelmaker of the Year' in the year1996 by New Steel in the USA,

'Willy Korf Steel Vision Award' in the year 1998,

'Business Person of 2006' by the Sunday Times,

'International Newsmaker of the Year 2006' by Time Magazine,

'Person of the Year 2006' by the Financial Times.

The King’s College London has awarded Mittal a fellowship that is considered to be an immensely prestigious award. He is the member of several organizations and trusts. Mittal is the member of the Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan, International Investment Council in South Africa, member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council and an indispensable part of the Executive Committee of the International Iron and Steel Institute. He is also the Director of ICICI Bank Limited and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management in the United States of America . He is also a member of the international advisory board of Citigroup.

Laxmi Mittal is an outstanding businessman who has an excellent vision, entrepreneurship and leadership quality that have helped him achieve enormous success in the field of steel manufacturing and development.