Who Is Lakshmi Mittal?

Lakshmi N. Mittal is executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel and mining manufacturer. He previously served as chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal. One of the world's prominent billionaires, Mittal is known as a global businessman who serves on the boards of various advisory councils, and as a philanthropist engaged in the fields of children's health and education. Lakshmi Mittal is a citizen of India and resides in the United Kingdom.

Early Life and Education

Lakshmi Mittal was born in Sadulpur, India in 1950. He graduated from St. Xavier’s College in Kolkata, India in 1970 where he received a bachelor of commerce degree. Having completed his education, Mittal began his career in his family’s steelmaking business in India before establishing his own steel company in 1976.

ArcelorMittal

In 1976, Lakshmi Mittal founded a small company in Indonesia that would eventually become ArcelorMittal with operations in 16 countries. Focusing on global consolidation, Mittal acquired and integrated steel companies globally. In 2004, the Mittal Steel Company was formed after merging its companies, Ispat International and LNM Holdings, and acquiring the U.S. Ohio-based International Steel Group. In 2006, Mittal Steel merged with Arcelor to form ArcelorMittal.

ArcelorMittal maintains operations that produce a wide range of steel for the mobility, construction, infrastructure, industrial, and energy sectors. At research centers stationed around the world, new steel products, processes, and solutions are envisioned, tested, improved, and deployed. ArcelorMittal is intensifying its commitment to decarbonize, recognizing that steel can make a significant contribution toward net-zero emissions. In 2021 the company posted a net income of nearly $15 billion and it expects its steel shipments in 2022 to grow by 3%.

In the Q2 FY2022 earnings release, operating income was $4.49 billion versus $4.43 billion from Q2 FY2021. Steel shipments were 14.4 million metric tonnes versus 16.1 million tonnes from Q2 FY2021. Iron ore shipments were 7.5 million metric tonnes versus 4.6 tonnes from Q2 FY2021.

Notable Accomplishments

Lakshmi Mittal has gained international recognition as a leader in the steel industry. In 1996 he was awarded "Steelmaker of the Year" by New Steel in the United States and named Fortune magazine’s "European Businessman of the Year" in 2004, and "Person of the Year" by the Financial Times in 2006. In October 2010, Mittal received the World Steel Association’s medal in recognition of his contribution to the sustainable development of the global steel industry. In January 2013, Lakshmi Mittal was awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa by the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland.

Wealth and Philanthropy

Lakshmi Mittal is an active philanthropist and has made significant gifts to Harvard University, where Mittal is a member of the Global Advisory Council, and UNICEF to specifically address child malnutrition in India. The Mittal family has also contributed to the Great Ormond Street Hospital in the United Kingdom, supporting the Mittal Children’s Medical Centre which formally opened in January 2018.

Serving on advisory councils around the world, Lakshmi Mittal is a member of the Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan, the National Investment Council of Ukraine, the Global CEO Council of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, the World Steel Association’s Executive Committee, the European Round Table of Industrialists, the Indian School of Business and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Cleveland Clinic.

The Bottom Line

Lakshmi Mittal founded a small steel company in Indonesia which grew to become ArcelorMittal, the largest steel manufacturing company in the world. Mittal is viewed as a leader in the steel industry and is an active member of business and advisory councils around the world.