One of Britain’s richest residents and the executive chairman of steelmaker ArcelorMittal, Lakshmi Mittal, has reportedly bought a palatial home in Dubai. The purchase is touted to be one of the priciest residential sales in the emirate.
According to a report in Bloomberg, the Indian-born billionaire bought the mansion in a gated community known as the ‘Beverly Hills of Dubai’. The residence was listed for about $200 million in 2023, and was bought by Mittal for about half the price, the report added.
The purchase of the Baroque-style residence, decorated lavishly with gold leaf, comes amid reports that wealthy individuals are exploring residency options outside the UK, because of the tax reforms that have made the country less attractive for the global rich. As per the report, Mittal has been considering leaving the UK.
UK’s wealthy residents are troubled by the new reform that scrapped the preferential tax regime for non-domiciled residents, under which non-doms could avoid UK taxes on their overseas earnings for as long as 15 years.
Mittal, 74, is not the only uber-wealthy to seek a residential option in Dubai. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s family had also bought luxury real estate in Dubai. Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris and Bart Becht, the former CEO of Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc are also other wealthy individuals who recently decided to leave the UK.
Lakshmi Mittal has been the focus of debates on the UK’s preferential tax regimes for wealthy foreigners. He and his family relocated to the UK more than two decades ago.
