The study undertaken by the Luxury Institute, a research organisation specialising in the super-wealthy, claimed that 53-year-old Mittal now tops the list of 50 wealthiest people in Europe. The Institute's study will appear in next month's issue of 'European Business' magazine.
"His NYSE-quoted steel company had a brutal year in 2005 but he goes on making new deals and creating more wealth. His high-profile October acquisition of a Ukrainian plant underlines that there's yet more to come," the magazine said about the CEO of Mittal Steel.
The latest figures dismiss the possibility of Russian billionaire and owner of the Chelsea football club Roman Abramovich, who came in sixth in the list, from usurping Mittal's position as Britain's richest.
According to the Institute, the number of billionaires in the world in 2005 grew to a record 691, an increase of more than 100 from 2004.
Mittal Steel, which is 88 per cent owned by the Mittal family, plans to buy a controlling stake in South Africa's second largest steel producer Highveld and increase its share of global steel making capacity as demand from China and India rises.
