LAKSHMI MITTAL IS BRITAIN'S RICHEST MAN
(3 April 2005)

Indian Steel Tycoon, Lakshmi Mittal has topped The Sunday Times Rich List 2005 published today and is Britain's Richest Man with a fortune estimated at £14.8billion - four times last year's wealth estimate of £3.5billion. The Rich List reveals that 57-year old Mittal is one of 40 billionaires now living in Britain, the biggest number ever recorded.

Compiled by Philip Beresford who said that "Britain's super-rich have seen their wealth soar into the stratosphere", the list shows that the rise in wealth among the country’s richest 1,000 people — from £99 billion in 1997 to £250 billion this year — equates to a 152% increase. This is nearly double the 79% rise experienced by the population as a whole.

Britain’s richest are acquiring wealth at one of the fastest rates in the world. The country’s most affluent 50 people increased their wealth by 29.7% last year, compared with a 12.5% increase among the richest 50 in Europe and a 1.7% rise for the richest 50 in the world.

Of the 1,000 people on the list, 750 are self-made millionaires. Most have made their money in land, property, banking or finance. The boom in consumer confidence means that many multimillionaires who have thrived this year are involved in shopping, hotels and food.

Mittal’s climb to the top is one of the most phenomenal increases in personal wealth ever seen in this country. His £14.8 billion fortune is the highest in the 17-year history of the Rich List.

His leap from £3.5 billion last year was due to a merger that created the world’s biggest steel-maker, Mittal Steel. It employs 165,000 workers and produced 60m tonnes of steel last year. Mittal has not been shy to spend some of his new riches. He spent £70m last year on a mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens in London and hosted a lavish wedding at Versailles for his daughter, Vanita.

Mittal's name, however, was not mentioned in the Top 50 Givers Index - those who have donated a significant proportion of their wealth to charity in the last 12 months - which is headed by George Weston, Lord Sainsbury and Hand Rausing.

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