Lakshmi Mittal loses 16.6 bn pounds in global meltdown

NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal has lost 16.6 billion pounds in the global credit crunch owing to plummeting stock markets in the last four months, media reports said here on Sunday.

The 58-year-old Mittal heads a list of ten super-rich losers who together have seen their share portfolios shrink by about 23 billion pounds from their peaks, The Sunday Times claimed.

Another NRI entrepreneur Anil Agarwal, who built up his metals empire, has seen his stock plummet by 2.7 billion pounds.

The height of Mittal's losses dwarfs those of others in the list of top 10 losers, which include Mike Ashley, the beleaguered owner of Newcastle United football club and the retailer Sports Direct.

Mittal has seen his family's stake in ArcelorMittal, the steel conglomerate, fall from 33.24 billion pounds on June 4 this year to 16.63 billion pounds at the close of Friday's markets. The loss is equivalent to 137 million pounds a day or nearly 6 million pounds an hour.

The credit crunch losses were established by comparing the value of shareholdings around the world held by them at their peak with the value at the close of markets last Friday.

Tim Bouquet, author of a book on Lakshmi Mittal, said the tycoon's lifestyle was well suited to less ostentatious times.

"He's very careful with money, he knows where most of the pennies go," Bouquet said. "He likes to joke that on his plane he serves pizza rather than champagne. Mittal's idea of a good time is to order Chinese takeaway from Zen Central in Mayfair in London."

Mittal is also joint owner of Queens Park Rangers with Bernie Ecclestone, head of Formula One, and Flavio Briatore, managing director of the Renault Formula One team. They sparked protests from their fan base last weekend after raising prices for some games to 50 pound, the most expensive tickets in the Championship so far.

Source: EconomicTimes