Lakshmi Mittal

Lakshmi Mittal is the chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal and one of the world's wealthiest billionaires. He helped  globalize the steel industry's business model.

Mittal's career began by working in his family's steel making business in India, and he has since acquired more than 30 years of experience in steel and related businesses. In 1976 he founded Mittal Steel Company, eventually merging with French steelmaker Arcelor in 2006 to form ArcelorMittal. In addition to his work in the steel industry, Mittal is a philanthropist and is a member of numerous boards and trusts. He has held a seat on the board of Goldman Sachs since 2008.

Mittal opened and successfully ran his own steel mill, after which he began to acquire and reorganize failing, mostly state-run, mills around the world. His growth model emulated other global industries, such as car manufacturers and iron and coal companies. As part of his push to make his company a globalized player in the steel industry, he acquired companies in Canada, Germany and Kazakhstan.

Mittal acquired the Karmet Steel works in Temirtau, Kazakhstan for $400 million. At the time, the former Soviet republic was in a financial mess and on the brink of bankruptcy. The move turned out to be beneficial, as Kazakhstan shares a border with China, where demand for steel was about to explode. This acquisition was a wise move for Mittal, vaulting him into the top echelons of steel production.

Mittal focused particularly on consolidation in the steel industry, which in many cases had become fragmented. Small steel companies were unable to make competitive deals with large clients, such as automakers, despite high demand. Mittal’s company was in a good position to negotiate fvaorable prices with such companies as it controlled nearly 40 percent of the market for flat-rolled steel in America.

In 2004 Mittal merged two of his companies: Ispat International and LNM Holdings. He then acquired the International Steel Group, which was based in Ohio, creating the new TMittal Steel Company N.V., which was then the world’s largest steelmaker. In 2006, the company merged again with Arcelor to form ArcelorMittal. ArcelorMittal is the world’s largest steel manufacturer, worth more than $100 billion.