Quote of the Day by Lakshmi Mittal: ‘We are beginning to see the benefits…’

“We are beginning to see the benefits of global consolidation,” a quote by Lakshmi Mittal, Executive Chairman of ArcelorMittal.

Only a few months after making this declaration, in early 2006, Mittal launched his famous, aggressive hostile takeover bid for European steel giant Arcelor. This ultimately led to the historic $33 billion merger that created ArcelorMittal, cementing his status as the “King of Steel”.

Who is Lakshmi Mittal

Born on June 15, 1950, in Rajasthan, to a modest Marwari family, Lakshmi Mittal is an Indian billionaire industrialist widely known as the “King of Steel.” He is the executive chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel and mining company by output. As of May 2026, he has made headlines for acquiring a majority stake in the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals.

His wealth is estimated at approximately $28.4 billion according to Forbes. Other sources, like the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, estimate his fortune closer to $31 billion following significant gains in 2025.

He was the first Indian citizen to enter the top 10 of the Forbes global rich list, reaching as high as the third-richest person in the world in 2005.  

He was awarded India’s second-highest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan, in 2008.

When was this quote said by Lakshmi Mittal

Lakshmi Mittal said this on November 9, 2005, during a quarterly earnings presentation for Mittal Steel Company.

He made the statement right after Mittal Steel successfully acquired Kryvorizhstal, Ukraine’s largest state-run steel mill, for $4.8 billion in a highly publicised privatisation auction.

What does this quote mean?

This quote means that merging separate steel companies across different countries into one massive global network was finally proving to be a successful and profitable strategy. Traditionally, the steel industry was highly fragmented, leaving individual factories vulnerable to local economic downturns and wild swings in raw material prices.

Ultimately, the statement was a declaration of victory to investors, proving that his risky, aggressive vision of international expansion was successfully stabilizing the business and driving higher profit margins than smaller competitors could achieve.