The Richest Man Americans Have Never Heard Of - by Mattew Kaminski

WSJ.com

The Richest Man Americans Have Never Heard Of - by Mattew Kaminski

PARIS -- Lakshmi Mittal built up the world's biggest steel company -- and the third-largest personal fortune of any man -- by acquiring mills in the dodgiest of places. He honed his deal-making skills on the frontiers of capitalism: in Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Algeria, the Balkans, often in countries one might need to look up in the very latest atlas. In the past week, however, the 55-year-old Indian mogul has found himself in arguably the most difficult business environment of all -- Western Europe. In terms of political resonance as much as sheer size, Mittal Steel's hostile $24 billion bid for the world's second-largest steelmaker, Luxembourg-based Arcelor, is without precedent in Europe. The prime ministers of France and Luxembourg, jointly and repeatedly -- along with politicians across the board -- condemned the Indian's gumption and vowed to stop him. Worse were the threats from the unions and Arcelor's chief executive, Frenchman Guy Dollé. A takeover of Arcelor would take Mr. Mittal a long way toward realizing his vision of a dominant global steelmaker in an industry for decades characterized, and brought low, by fragmentation. To pull it off, Mr. Mittal needs to break an Old World taboo against takeovers, hostile or otherwise, involving a company dear to Continental protectionists' heart. That this task falls to a man born in Rajasthan, and raised in Calcutta, is one of the more delicious gifts of globalization. Mr. Mittal's own nationality is an elusive target for adversaries. His very business makes a mockery of the old nation-state model. He is nowhere and everywhere. As a sop to the old European way of thinking, Mr. Mittal offered to keep the future headquarters of a combined Mittal-Arcelor back in Luxembourg. "It doesn't matter to me," he says. For in his sort of world, it really doesn't matter.

In Europe, the overtly modest man's lavish tastes garner notice. He owns the world's most expensive private home, a $127 million mansion in London. Nearly two years ago, the British tabloids had great fun with the $60 million wedding thrown for his daughter and a thousand close friends over five days in France. Kylie Minogue and Bollywood stars entertained at the 17th-century Chateau Vaux le Vicomte and other venues. Plenty of moneyed people like to spend it; there's a whiff of condescension in the faux-outrage about this rich Indian's tastes, no? He refuses to talk about it. "We want to keep private everything," he says.