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$29.4 billion. that is the figure attached to lakshmi mittal’s name in 2026. forbes ranks him #83 worldwide. in india, only three people are richer.

but wealth like this never stays still. mittal added $20 billion to his net worth over the last twelve months. arcelormittal’s stock surged over 80%. do the math. that works out to roughly ₹274 crore every single day. most indian companies struggle to earn that in an entire fiscal year.

then there is the ipl. may 2026. mittal and his son aditya put together $1.65 billion — ₹15,660 crore — to buy rajasthan royals. adar poonawalla came on board as a partner. think about it. a man born in rajasthan, buying the state’s cricket team. you could not write a better script.

the early years

the year that changed everything. mittal was 26. the indian government had put a cap on steel production. so he looked elsewhere. indonesia had no such restrictions. he packed his bags and set up pt ispat indo in east java. his first steel mill. that decision became the template for his entire career. he spotted opportunities that others missed. he went where others feared to tread.

sadulpur. a small town in rajasthan. 15 june 1950. that is where lakshmi niwas mittal entered the world. his father ran a steel business. the family lived modestly. they were marwari, conservative, hardworking. later they moved to calcutta. mittal went to st. xavier’s college.

over the next two decades, mittal went on a buying spree. trinidad & tobago. ireland. romania. kazakhstan. poland. mexico. all loss-making state-owned steel plants. all bought cheap. his method never varied. buy the assets. fix the operations. turn them profitable. rinse and repeat. by 2004, he had merged everything into mittal steel. it was the world’s largest steelmaker at that point.

the arcelor gambit

arcelor. $33 billion. hostile takeover.

arcelor was europe’s steel champion. governments in france, luxembourg, and belgium opposed the deal. they did not want a foreigner — especially an indian controlling their crown jewel. but mittal did not back down. he fought. he won. arcelormittal was born. 60 countries. 125,000 employees. the undisputed global steel giant.

in 2021, mittal stepped back from day-to-day operations. he handed the ceo role to his son aditya. but he stayed on as executive chairman. the transition was smooth. the company kept delivering. arcelormittal reported net income of $3.15 billion in 2025. that was a 142% jump from $1.3 billion in 2024.

the ipl play

the rajasthan royals deal is not just about one team. it includes sister franchises — paarl royals in south africa and barbados royals in the caribbean. the mittal family gets about 75%. poonawalla gets 18%. manoj badale and other existing investors keep 7%.

the deal is pending approvals. bcci. competition commission of india. ipl governing council. completion is expected in the third quarter of 2026.

for retail investors, this is not a direct investment opportunity. rajasthan royals is a private entity. but the deal sends a signal. mittal is betting big on india. he is also setting a new benchmark for ipl franchise valuations. the previous record was $1.3 billion for lucknow super giants and gujarat titans in 2021. the royals deal blows that out of the water.

where he ranks

ranking	name	net worth (2026)
1	mukesh ambani	$92.4 billion
2	gautam adani	$58.2 billion
3	shiv nadar	$37.0 billion
4	lakshmi mittal	$36.9 billion
5	savitri jindal	$34.8 billion

on the bloomberg billionaire index, mittal is fourth. his wealth has grown $5.35 billion this year. though it slipped $506 million on the latest update.

the steel machine

arcelormittal’s numbers are impressive. revenue of €54.36 billion in the latest fiscal year. net income of €2.79 billion.

q2 2026 was strong. revenue hit $16.76 billion, up 8.4% from the previous quarter. steel prices rose 4.4%. shipments increased 4.1%. ebitda climbed 22.9% to $2.06 billion. net income jumped 18.8% to $683 million.

europe delivered $7.80 billion, up 4.7%. plants in spain and poland restarted production. north america posted $3.67 billion, up 11.3%. brazil grew 12.2% to $3.15 billion. the india joint venture, amns india, produced 1.95 million tonnes and shipped 1.93 million tonnes.

the risks

regulatory risks are real. the new european tariff quota system. the carbon border adjustment mechanism. both could affect arcelormittal’s operations.

mittal is 75. he has handed over operational control to his son. but his strategic vision still matters. succession is always a risk in family-run businesses.

what investors can take away

three lessons.

first, bold bets pay off. mittal moved to indonesia at 26. he bought failing steel plants. he took on the european establishment with arcelor. each was a massive risk. each paid off handsomely.

second, operational expertise matters. mittal’s formula was simple. buy broken assets. fix them. make money. he did this across countries, across cultures, across market cycles.

third, succession planning is underrated. the handover to aditya was seamless. the company did not miss a beat. that takes planning and trust.

what next

lakshmi mittal’s net worth will track arcelormittal’s performance. the company is well-positioned in a consolidating industry. the ipl deal adds a new dimension — diversification into sports and entertainment.

for retail investors, the key is understanding what drives his wealth. arcelormittal is public. its stock is accessible. the ipl deal shows mittal is deploying capital into growth areas.

whether that works out only time will tell.