Lakshmi Mittal loses 16 bn pounds in global meltdown

London, Oct 6: The global credit crunch did not leave even the richest man in Britain, the steel tycoon Lakshmi N Mittal. Mittal's fortune has plummeted by 16 billion pounds in just 120 days due to recession-hit stock market. The Sunday Times reports that the 58-year-old Mittal heads a list of ten super-rich losers who together have seen their share portfolios shrink by about 23 billion pounds from their peaks. The Sunday Times Rich List 2008 super-rich losers also include Anil Agarwal, the Chairman of Vedanta Resources who lost 2.9 billion pounds in the market.

Mittal's stake in ArcelorMittal, the steel conglomerate, fell from 33.24 billion pounds on June 4 this year to 16.63 billion pounds at the close of Friday, Oct 3's markets. The loss is the equivalent to 137 million pounds a day or nearly 6 million pounds an hour.

The steel tycoon is the biggest loser, although he remains the wealthiest in the country. The plight of these billionaires including Mittal's, came as a surprise to many.

Mittal is also joint owner of the Queens Park Rangers with Bernie Ecclestone, head of Formula One, and Flavio Briatore, Managing Director of the Renault F1 team. They sparked protests from fans last weekend after raising prices for some games to 50 pounds, the most expensive tickets in the Championship.

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