STOCK MARKET DESK

Indian-born steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal is the richest man in Europe with his fortune estimated at a staggering 27.7 billion pounds, even as he emerged as Britain's wealthiest person for fourth year in a row.

Over all, the steel baron, whose wealth saw a whopping increase of 8.5 billion pounds in a year, is the sixth richest in the world, a rich-list published by the Sunday Times said today.

His company ArcelorMittal is now worth more than 57.2 billion pounds and the Mittal family's 43 per cent stake is worth 24.6 billion pounds.

According to the list, the Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil, although they have parted ways, together were rated as the richest in the world at a combined worth of 43 billion pounds, ahead of America's Walton family, owners of Wal-Mart (38.4 billion) and Microsoft chief Bill Gates (29 bn pounds).

There were two more Indian entries in the list of 50 richest in the world in 2008 - K P Singh (property - 15 billion pounds and Shashi and Ravi Ruia (steel, oil telecoms - 7.5 billion pounds).

Meanwhile, the Hinduja brothers, S P Hinduja and G P Hinduja, Chairman and President, respectively of the group were Britain's second richest with 6.2 billion pounds.

Leading NRI entrepreneur Lord Swraj Paul was the fourth among the ten richest Asians in Britain, the list said.

The London-based Caparo Group of 77-year-old Lord Paul, British Ambassador for Overseas Business, is making hefty investments in the booming Indian economy.

In 2006, its profits were 55 million pounds on 660 million pounds sales.