Mittal vs Potanin
ArcelorMittal and Nornickel.
The differences
- Forbes puts Lakshmi Mittal about $1B ahead of Vladimir Potanin.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 17 Oct 2026.
- Lakshmi Mittal: inherited and grew it. Vladimir Potanin: built it up.
- Lakshmi Mittal is about 11 years older than Vladimir Potanin.
- Vladimir Potanin has signed the Giving Pledge; Lakshmi Mittal has not.
- Lakshmi Mittal is from India; Vladimir Potanin is from Russia.
Put someone else on either side
Side by side
Mittal
PotaninThe money
- Net worth, Forbes
- $30.7BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
- $29.7BForbes, 17 Oct 2026
- Net worth, Bloomberg
- $38.4BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026
- $21.8BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026
- Forbes rank
- No. 72Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
- No. 76Real-Time list, 17 Oct 2026
- Billionaire since
- Not stated
- Not stated
Where it came from
- How it started
- Inherited and grew itStarted in his family's steel business in India, set up Ispat Indo in Indonesia in 1976 and founded Mittal Steel (formerly the LNM Group) in 1989, which merged with Arcelor in 2006. Forbes' 2006 list described his fortune as 'inherited and growing'
- Built it upFounded Interros in 1990; acquired a stake in Norilsk Nickel during Russia's privatization in the 1990s and has run it since 2012
- Main source
- ArcelorMittal stock, held through a family trustBloomberg: 'The majority of Lakshmi Mittal's fortune is derived from a 44% stake in ArcelorMittal'
- Norilsk Nickel stockBloomberg: most of his wealth is his Norilsk Nickel stake; he also has stakes in T-Technologies and Yandex
- Companies
- ArcelorMittal, AperamArcelorMittal: Executive chairman; Aperam: Chairman of the board
- Nornickel, InterrosNornickel: President and chairman of the management board; Interros: Founder and president
- Biggest stake
- ArcelorMittal43.15% owned
- Interros100% owned
The person
- Born
- 15 Jun 1950Sadulpur, Rajasthan, India
- 3 Jan 1961Moscow, Russia
- Country
- India
- Russia
- Education
- Bachelor's degreeBachelor of commerce, St Xavier's College, Kolkata
- Not statedFaculty of Economics, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), 1983
- Parents
- His family moved to Calcutta (Kolkata) in the 1960s, where his father ran a steel mill; he began in the family steel business
- Father was a trade diplomat and mother a doctor
What they give
- Giving Pledge
- Not a signer
- Signed in 2013
- Foundation
- The Lakshmi N Mittal Family FoundationRegistered charity in England and Wales (No. 1146604)
- Vladimir Potanin FoundationGrant-making foundation created in 1999
- Lifetime giving
- Not stated
- Not stated
Role and record
- Role now
- Runs the companyExecutive chairman of ArcelorMittal; chairman of Aperam
- Runs the companyPresident and chairman of the management board of Nornickel; president of Interros
- Successor
- His son Aditya Mittal became ArcelorMittal CEO in 2021; his daughter Vanisha Mittal Bhatia sits on the board
- Not stated
- Public office
- Member, Prime Minister's Global Advisory Council (India)2009
- First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia1996-1997
- Legal record
- None found
- 2022: UK governmentDesignated under UK sanctions with a full asset freeze (UK Sanctions List reference RUS1466).
