Mittal leads richest Asians list in Britain

London, Apr 9 (UNI) With a whopping fortune of 14.8 billion pounds, steel tycoon Laksmi N Mittal has reaffirmed his position as the richest Asian in Britain, even as there is a 42 per cent increase in the wealth of the country's 300 richest Asians.

According to a study compiled by The Sunday Times Rich List author Philip Beresford, the total wealth of the richest Asians has increased by 42 per cent from 24.9 billion pounds last year to 35.5 billion pounds this year.

The list, which is dominated by Indians, is to be published next week.

This hike is attributed to strong stock markets and the community's links with the booming Asian economies.

Sunrise Radio Chairman Avtar Lit said, ''This year, the Rich List shows that Britain's Asians are increasingly taking part in global businesses. Those in property are looking for opportunities abroad in places like Dubai and Bahrain. There seems to be terrific traffic between Asia and the UK at the moment.'' Mr Beresford added, ''Everybody has just got richer this year, with the boom in stock markets and property. Globally there is a boom, because of China and India, and this has been felt everywhere.'' The Hinduja brothers, whose interests range from breweries to financial services stand second in the list. Their wealth has increased by 1.5 billion pounds to 3.6 billion pounds this year.

Those with 10-figure fortune also include poker company PartyGaming co-founder Anurag Dikshit (34) whose fortune is more than 1.7 billion pounds.

Vedanta Resources Head Anil Agarwal (53) comes fourth on the list with his wealth having more than doubled from 620 million pounds last year to 1.68 billion pounds this year. Most of it comes from the production of zinc, which has a high demand in the Chinese industry.

Mr Agarwal, a former scrap metal merchant, lives in a 20 million pounds house in Mayfair, Central London.

Meena Pathak (49) is one of the richest women on the list this year. The queen of the Patak's spices empire and her husband Kirit (53) are worth 46 million pounds. Ms Pathak, a one-time model from Bombay, also plans to sell curry in India in the future.

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