"The issue was inheritance tax."
Lakshmi Mittal is reportedly set to leave the UK in response to Labour’s tax reforms targeting wealthy foreign residents.
The Indian steel magnate has lived in Britain since 1995 with his wife Usha and their two children.
Mittal has an estimated £15.4 billion fortune and is well known for his charity work and property interests.
His assets include three homes on Kensington Palace Gardens, known as “Billionaire’s Row”, as well as a stake in Queens Park Rangers.
He also donated around £5 million to the Labour Party during Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s premierships.
According to The Times, the timing of his departure is linked to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ upcoming second budget.
The abolition of the non-dom system in April is believed to be a major factor behind the decision.
The system allowed wealthy foreign residents to pay UK tax only on income and gains generated inside Britain.
An adviser with knowledge of Mittal’s move said:
“It wasn’t the tax on income [or capital gains] that was the issue.
“The issue was inheritance tax. Many wealthy people from overseas cannot understand why all of their assets, wherever they are in the world, should be subject to inheritance tax imposed by the UK Treasury.
“People in this situation feel they have little choice but to leave and are either sad or angry to be doing so.”
Reeves’ first budget increased capital gains tax and reduced relief for entrepreneurs selling their companies. It also introduced new rules that affected family firms handing down ownership to the next generation.
Reports have suggested that Labour may introduce a 20% exit tax on wealthy individuals leaving the UK. Critics claim that the government is discouraging investment and undermining long-term wealth creation.
Mittal already holds Swiss tax residency and plans to spend significantly more time in Dubai.
He owns a home in the emirate as well as property on nearby Naïa Island, which is part of a new development.
Several other wealthy business figures have also left Britain following the reforms. Norwegian shipping billionaire John Fredriksen moved to Dubai earlier this year and said the UK had “gone to hell”.
German investor Christian Angermayer relocated to Switzerland and described the non-dom changes as the UK’s “death blow”.
Tech entrepreneurs Herman Narula and Nik Storonsky have voiced similar concerns and moved their operations to Dubai.
Mittal was born into a steel trading family in Rajasthan and joined the business after graduating with a first-class commerce degree. He moved to Indonesia in 1976 and set up his own steel plant, which expanded rapidly.
His global strategy involved buying fragmented steel assets across different markets and integrating them into a unified international operation.
This culminated in the 2006 takeover of Luxembourg-based Arcelor after a five-month bidding battle.
The combined company became ArcelorMittal, now worth more than £25 billion on the stock market. The Mittal family holds almost 40 per cent of its shares, as well as major stakes in Aperam and HPCL-Mittal Energy.
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