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Rediff.com  » Business » L N Mittal is London's richest man

L N Mittal is London's richest man

Source: PTI
November 24, 2006 19:07 IST
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The city of London is the "unchallenged magnet" for the world's billionaires and home to 23 richest people, including NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal.

No other city holds such captivating power over those who can live in the finest style anywhere they choose, a report said.

Other large cities, such as New York, Moscow and San Francisco, may compete with London for resident billionaires, but their elite are home-grown. Of the 23 billionaires in London, only 12 are British. The rest come from countries as varied as India, Iceland and South Africa, Daily Mail, a leading tabloid reported on Friday.

Forbes, the house magazine for the rich and powerful, is of the opinion that London's appeal lies in its accessibility, stability, low taxation and the global standing of City institutions.

"Many cities vie for the title of the world's capital, but London still attracts the elite of the world's rich and successful. And it can lay claim unchallenged to one title: it is the magnet for the world's billionaires," Paul Maidment, of Forbes.com said.

Mittal, the richest man in London, is worth £12.27 billion. The 55-year-old is wealthy enough to have bought a £70 million mansion off Hyde Park that is not even his permanent address.

He invited 1,200 guests to the wedding of his daughter Vanisha at a cost of £30 million and his fortune is larger than the economic output of some African countries, the report said.

Another NRI, Anil Agarwal is the seventh richest resident in London with a fortune worth £1.4 billion.

Agarwal built his London-listed Vedanta Resources after acquiring state-owned mining and metal assets in India.

He also owns copper mines in Zambia and Australia. He moved to Britain in 2003 and lives in Mayfair.

Mittal's closest rival in wealth is Roman Abramovich, Russian, who at the age of 40 has amazed wealth worth £9.5 billion. He is into oil, aluminium and land business.

It is an extraordinary achievement for a man who was orphaned at the age of four. He owns Chelsea Football Club and West London property worth nearly £60 million, most of it a short walk from Harrods, the internationally reputed departmental store.

New York is home to 34 of the mega-rich, who are mostly American. Trailing behind are Moscow and San Francisco, with 20 billionaires each.

In third place among the billionaires in London is Leonard Blavatnik,the Russian-American oil magnate, and Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, a Dutch heiress to the Heineken beer fortune.

Only then does the first British London-based billionaire make an appearance. David Reuben with his brother Simon, who lives elsewhere, has a net worth $5 billion (£2.6 billion).

Interestingly both David and Simon Reuben were born in Mumbai and raised in the United Kingdom. The two brothers started separate careers -- Simon in carpets and real estate, David in metals trading. Simon residences in Monaco, David in West London.

Bernie Ecclestone, aged 75, is the sixth richest. The chief executive of Formula One racing, lives in Chelsea with his wife Slavica and has two grown up daughters. He is worth £1.7 billion and Richard Branson, Virgin boss is the eighth richest. He is worth £1.4 billion.

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