LNM, Mukesh among powerful billionaires

NEW YORK: Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Reliance Industries��� chairman Mukesh Ambani are among the 20 most powerful billionaires in the world, as they possess not only the riches but also economic dominance as well as political clout, says Forbes.

The Indian steel baron and the head of India���s largest private sector company were included in the list of ���the world���s most powerful billionaires��� and according to Forbes (they) have tremendous sway over the world���s markets, workers.

Lakshmi Mittal, who controls the world���s largest steel firm, ArcelorMittal, has been ranked third on the list ���despite his fortune falling $24.5 billion between March and November 2008���.

Elaborating his power quotient, Forbes said, Mittal���s political clout often incites controversy. ���In 2002, then British prime minister Tony Blair reportedly wrote a letter to the Romanian prime minister hinting a sale of the country���s steel company to Mittal would facilitate its entrance into the European Union,��� said the US business magazine.