Lakshmi Mittal, the steel magnate who dominated The Sunday Times Rich List for more than a decade, has left the UK after nearly 30 years, becoming the latest billionaire to relocate following Labour’s tax reforms.
The ArcelorMittal founder, once the UK’s wealthiest resident and still worth £15.4 billion, has moved his tax residency to Switzerland and plans to spend much of his time in Dubai, where he already owns a mansion and is now developing multiple luxury properties on the new Naïa Island.
Mittal’s departure comes just days before Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her second Budget, expected to include a fresh round of tax increases targeted at high earners and wealthy households as she works to close a £20 billion hole in the public finances. His exit follows widespread anger among the super-rich after Reeves’ first Budget increased capital gains tax, reduced entrepreneurs’ relief, and changed inheritance rules for family firms.
But it was April’s decision to abolish the non-dom tax regime — used by wealthy international residents for more than 200 years — that prompted Mittal’s move. A close adviser said inheritance tax was the decisive factor.
“It wasn’t income or capital gains tax,” the adviser said. “The issue was inheritance tax. Many wealthy overseas families cannot understand why all of their global assets should be subject to UK inheritance tax. They feel they have little choice but to leave — and they’re sad or angry to do so.”
Under UK rules, estates can face tax of up to 40%, compared with zero in Dubai and none for direct heirs in most Swiss cantons.
Mittal, 74, arrived in Britain in the 1990s and quickly became one of the country’s most recognisable tycoons — buying three mansions on Kensington Palace Gardens, donating millions to public causes, and topping the Rich List eight times. His London estate includes the £57 million “Taj Mittal”, built with marble from the same quarry as the Taj Mahal. Friends say there are no plans to sell.
His relocation marks one of the most high-profile moves yet in the ongoing exodus of wealthy residents. Other recent departures include Norwegian shipping billionaire John Fredriksen, German investor Christian Angermayer, and tech founders Herman Narula (Improbable) and Nik Storonsky (Revolut), all of whom cited UK tax policy as a driving factor.
Mittal built his empire after leaving India in the 1970s, eventually assembling ArcelorMittal — now worth more than £25 billion and employing over 125,000 people worldwide — through a series of aggressive steel-plant acquisitions. The Mittal family also owns stakes in Aperam and HPCL-Mittal Energy.
He leaves behind a long record of philanthropy in Britain, from funding Great Ormond Street Hospital to supporting public libraries, churches, Unicef and Oxford University. His £16 million contribution to the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower remains one of the lasting landmarks of the 2012 London Olympics.
A friend said his exit was a loss for the UK. “It’s sad, really. Many British people benefited from having this family here. Not any more.”
