Often called “The Metal King,” Anil Agarwal is an Indian businessman who has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion according to Forbes Magazine as of May 2016. He is also #395 in Forbes’ Billionaires List (#314 in 2012), #17 in India and #21 in India’s Richest List. Born on January 24, 1954 in Patna, Bihar, India, he is a onetime metals trader who controls the London-listed, Vedanta Resources. He is the founder and Executive Chairman of the company with $24 billion revenues. In the first half of 2012, its net profit has increased to 50% because of the contribution of the record production at oil explorer Cairn India where his brother Navin is the chairman.

In 1976, Agarwal founded Sterlite Industries, a business that operates in the industrial sector. In 1986, he established Vedanta Resources that led to a variety of businesses that the Agarwal family now owns. Its Indian unit, Sesa Goa, which merged with the Sterlite Industries, was hit by a mining ban on Goa. In 2003, he was the 8th richest Indian according to Forbes but in March 2012, he was only ranked #15.

Currently, Anil Argawal invests in Liberia where he has been negotiating with the government to acquire the staked in two companies that he still doesn’t own - Hindustan Zinc and Bharat Aluminum. In 2011, after several protests over the company’s mining practices, lead to the closure of its mine. This led the company to shut down its alumina refinery in eastern India where there is a shortage of bauxite.