It Was a Very Good Year

Lakshmi Mittal had a good year. He made $19 billion in profits from his, the world’s largest steel company, by acquisitions of other mills. Forbes gave details about this $25B Rich Dude.

“Mittal’s Wharton-educated son, Aditya, is the group’s president and chief financial officer. But it was Mittal’s other child, his daughter Vanisha, who attracted the spotlight last June.

Mittal threw a lavish wedding party for 23-year-old Vanisha, who married Amit Bhatia, a Delhi-born investment banker based in London. More than a thousand guests were flow in from around the world. The invitations were 20 pages thick and encased in silver, and the festivities lasted five days spread across some of France’s most famous settings, including the chateau built for Nicolas Fouquet, King Louis XIV’s finance minister. Indian press reports tagged the cost at $60 million.

Mittal is no stranger to extravagance. He paid $127 million for a 12-bedroom mansion in London’s tony Kensington Palace Gardens, a record price for a private residence. The home was formerly owned by Formula One racing boss Bernie Eccleston.

But Mittal and his family can well afford it. Mittal Steel is planning to pay a 40-cents-a-share dividend this year. Mittal and his family own 97% of the company, which would give them a $260 million payout, one of the largest dividends ever paid to a family-run business. Going forward, the family is understood to be diversifying by selling 11% of the company for $2 billion, reducing their holding to 88%.