In the 2008 UK rich list published by The Times last week, India-born steel entrepreneur Lakshmi Mittal was again named as Britain’s richest person for the fourth consecutive years.

Mittal was followed by Chelsea head honcho Roman Abramovich (2nd), The Duke of Westminster (3rd), Sri and Gopi Hinduja (4th), and Alisher Usmanov (5th).

The rest of the top 10 list were made up of Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelly (6th), Hans Rausing and family (7th), John Fredriksen (8th), Sir Philip and Lady Green (9th), and finally David and Simon Reuben (10th).

Lakshmi Mittal hails from a moderate family, whose house back in India came without luxuries and necessities. His father, who inherited steel making skills from the grand father, started a small size factory which grew at unprecedented rate and eventually change the family’s fortune and life.

His company, ArcelorMittal, is today the world’s largest producer of steel, with operation in numerous countries including in United States, Belgium, France, Spain, Romania, Italy, Africa, Indonesia, Argentina, Mexico and many more. Mittal heads as the President and CEO.

With a net worth of $45 billion, Forbes ranked Lakshmi Mittal as the fourth richest men in the world for the year 2008 after Warren Buffett, Carlos Slim Helu and Bill Gates, while the Time magazine listed him among 100 Most Influential People in 2007.