illionaire Lakshmi Mittal, the steel tycoon who heads the world's largest steelmaker, and his family will make US$935.4 million (euro637.4 million) in share dividends from their stake in ArcelorMittal this year, according to figures the company published Monday.
Mittal ranked fifth last year on Forbes magazine's list of the world's wealthiest people with an estimated fortune of US$32 billion (euro21.8 billion).
Born in India and now based in London where he lives in Britain's most expensive house, he led Mittal Steel Co.'s battle for control of Luxembourg-based Arcelor in 2006 that saw the world's No. 1 and No. 2 steel companies combine to form a titan controlling 10 percent of steel output.
Shareholders will see rewards from the company's 2007 earnings with four quarterly dividends of 37.5 U.S. cents (26 euro cents) throughout the year for each share.
The Mittal family are the biggest shareholders in the company with a 43 percent stake _ or 623.62 million shares _ that will give them US$233.8 million each quarter with the euro conversion calculated near the time of payment.
Tax authorities in ArcelorMittal's Luxembourg base will take a 15 percent slice of the payout.
Mittal began his career in his family's Calcutta steel business. He founded his first steel plant in Indonesia in 1976 before moving on to turn around a business in Trinidad and Tobago. By the 1980s he was a major player in world steel, and has strengthened his position ever since, buying up companies in Mexico, Canada, Germany, Ireland and Kazakhstan.
In April 2004, he paid 70 million pounds (US$125 million, euro110 million) for a 12-bedroom London mansion in the city's Kensington district _ next door to one owned by the Sultan of Brunei _ that was reported to be the world's most expensive house.
The following month the Sunday Times newspaper reported that he had hired singer Kylie Minogue to perform for guests during a six-day wedding bash for his daughter in Paris that cost a reported euro55 million (US$60 million).
He has also given generous donations to Britain's governing Labour Party, handing over 2 million pounds (US$3.6 million: euro3 million) in 2006, making him one of the party's biggest donors.
But in 2001, Mittal was at the center of ethics allegations against Prime Minister Tony Blair's government. Mittal donated 125,000 pounds (US$177,500 at the time) to the Labour Party just weeks before Blair wrote a letter to his Romanian counterpart supporting Mittal's bid to buy Sidex, the country's state steel company.
Mon January 21, 2008 08:25 EST
AOIFE WHITE
AP Business Writer
BRUSSELS, Belgium
Arcelor Mittal Chief Executive Officer Lakshmi Mittal, center, looks on as his son Aditya Mittal, right, shakes hands with Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, left, at a press conference in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, July 25, 2007. The Indian-born Mittal Wednesday said Arcelor Mittal was committed to setting up 10 million tonne capacity steels plants each in Jharkhand and Orissa states, for which the government has assured him the allocation of iron ore mines, according to a news agency.
(AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi)
illionaire Lakshmi Mittal, the steel tycoon who heads the world's largest steelmaker, and his family will make US$935.4 million (euro637.4 million) in share dividends from their stake in ArcelorMittal this year, according to figures the company published Monday.
