Daily News & Analysis
LONDON, Nov 6: Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal is known for working hard to make his billions, but he is also capable of partying hard to celebrate his wins too.
The NRI tycoon held a party costing hundreds of thousands of pounds two weeks ago to celebrate his amazing win in securing Arcelor, despite stiff opposition and making Mittal-Arcelor the largest steelmaker in the world.
The exclusive party was thrown for all those who helped him secure the $43.6 billion deal, and the lucky guests included Yoel Zaoui and Gilberto Pozzi of Goldman Sachs, Sudhir Maheshwari, managing director of Mittal Steel and Pierre-Yves Chabert who is a partner in the Paris office of lawyers Cleary Gottlieb.
For a man who has made conspicuous consumption, his trademarks are buying a £70 million home in Kensington Palace Gardens and holding his daughter’s wedding in Versailles, the venue for the grand dinner could only be Brockett Hall in Herfortdshire, a heritage stately home which has hosted parties for kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers for over 300 years.
But the most interesting part of the private extravanganza was the theme of the party — the studs of Hollywood. Based on the George Clooney hit Ocean’s 11 the party was dubbed Mittal’s 111 – The Completion.
Giant posters were printed in the vein of the Ocean’s 11 publicity billboards, but, instead of Clooney, Brad Pitt and the gang, Mittal, son Aditya and others who made the Arcelor deal possible were emblazoned across the posters strutting their stuff.
“The poster really says something about Lakshmi Mittal, does he fancy himself as a Hollywood hero or a clever conman,” said an NRI celebrity alluding to Clooney’s character in Ocean’s 11 after seeing the poster in the Sunday Times. The lavish dinner was washed down with the best champagne followed by a fireworks display in the crisp Autumn night choreographed to Mittal’s favourite tunes — the James Bond theme music.