Meet Anil Agarwal: The ‘metal king’ of India, who is the Chairman and founder of Vedanta Group; know about his journey, philanthropic interests and controversies

At the age of 19, he set out for Mumbai, the “City of Dreams,” with a tiffin box, some bedding, and hopes in his eyes

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Anil Agarwal, founder, Vedanta Group

‘The metal king’ as he is known professionally, Anil Agarwal has created a billion-dollar empire, Vedanta Group that started as a metal scrap business, which is now one of the top players in the industry with headquarters in London. Apart from leading the group as the Chairman and founder, Anil is also the philanthropic arm of this leading natural resource conglomerate.

Anil Agarwal’s early life

Anil Agarwal was born and raised in Patna, Bihar, India, in a Madwadi family. His father, Dwarka Prasad Agarwal, had a modest company that produced aluminium conductors. He went to Miller High School in Patna to study. Instead of attending college, he chose to work for his father’s aluminium conductor manufacturing company. At the age of 19, he set out for Mumbai, the “City of Dreams,” with a tiffin box, some bedding, and hopes in his eyes. By founding his own business, he was determined to carve out a unique place for himself in the illustrious history of the city.

He tried his luck with nine different firms in his early years, but they all failed, and he was having financial trouble. He began his eighth effort with the characteristic steadfastness that has been his signature throughout his life. He never looked back when his most recent endeavour, the production of cables, gained traction. He swiftly expanded into the production of copper and aluminium and created Vedanta, the titan it is today.

Vedanta’s philanthropic arm

Anil Agarwal established the Vedanta Foundation in 1992 to serve as the platform for the group companies’ philanthropic initiatives. The Vedanta Group enterprises and the Vedanta Foundation committed US$49.0 million during the 2013–2014 fiscal year to projects that improved the health, education, and standard of living for more than 4.1 million people, including the construction of hospitals, schools, and infrastructure, environmental preservation, and community programmes as per The Economic Times. Together with the government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the projects were carried out. Agarwal cites Bill Gates, David Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie as his influences. These men used their wealth to fund public works projects. His philanthropy supports programmes that promote education, women’s empowerment, and child welfare.

As per Forbes, Agarwal has pledged to give away 75% of his wealth to charity. In 2021, he signed the Giving Pledge.

Controversies of the Vedanta Group

According to a lawsuit brought by 2,000 locals in Zambia, Vedanta discharged dangerous waste from its copper mine into the Kafue River, causing widespread human disease and fish deaths. Vedanta was accused of seriously harming the environment and the local population in Tamil Nadu, India, by dumping hundreds of tonnes of slag containing arsenic close to its production, according to a 2004 report by a committee of the Indian Supreme Court. Vedanta was accused of evicting over a hundred indigenous residents from their homes in the Indian state of Odisha, where it wanted to mine bauxite, by a different committee of the Indian Supreme Court in 2005.

As per Forbes report, 2022, Anil Agarwal has a net worth of $2.01 billion, making him one of the richest in that year.

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This article was first uploaded on August twenty-seven, twenty twenty-three, at zero minutes past seven in the morning.
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