Interviewee: Lakshmi Mittal
Interviewer: NDTV
Date: September 12, 2008

Lakshmi Mittal, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Mittal Steel Company, was hailed as the 3rd richest man by the prestigious Forbes business magazine. This London-based steel baron was born on 1950 in Rajasthan, India.

Lakshmi Mittal earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the St. Xavier’s College in Calcutta. A few years after his graduation, he was able to marry Usha Mittal, who soon became the mother of his son and daughter.

His career, which has now spanned three decades, started in his family’s steelmaking venture in India. In 1976, he was able to establish the Mittal Steel company. Since then, Lakshmi Mittal has been left in charge for the development of the company. The global steel producer now has operations scattered across 14 countries. Earning more than $22 billion worth of profits for 2004, the company qualifies as the world’s largest steel producer.

Lakshmi Mittal was the first to use DRI or Direct Reduced Iron as an alternative for steelmaking. He was also responsible for pioneering the development of integrated mini-mills as well as for the global steel industry’s consolidation process.

For his triumphs in the industry, Fortune magazine awarded Lakshmi Mittal as the “European Businessman of the Year” for 2004. Prior to that recognition, Lakshmi Mittal was also the recipient of New Steel’s “Steelmaker of the Year” award for 1996.

In addition to overseeing the world’s largest steel company, Lakshmi Mittal is also involved in several trusts. He is a member of the International Investment Council in South Africa, the Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan, the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, as well as the International Iron and Steel Institute’s Executive Committee.

Being wealthiest man in Britain, Lakshmi Mittal currently resides in his $128 million house in Kensington.