Meet Anil Agarwal, metal and mining magnate and billionaire who skipped college to explore opportunities in Mumbai

Anil Agarwal, founder and Chairman of Vedanta Resources Limited is a metal and mining billionaire who controls Vedanta Resources through Volcan Investments, a holding with the vehicle with a 100% stake in the business. He was born and brought up in Patna, Bihar whose father had a small aluminium conductor business. Instead of attending college, he chose to work in his father's aluminium conductor manufacturing company. He went to Mumbai to explore more career opportunities at the age of 19. Anil Agarwal's family have a $4 billion net worth now.

He started dealing in scrap metal in the middle of the 1970s, buying it from cable companies in other states and selling it in Bombay. With the help of a bank loan, Anil Agarwal purchased Shamsher Sterling Corporation in 1976, which produced enamelled copper among other things. He managed both companies for the following ten years. 

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In 1986, he established Sterlite Industries by establishing a plant to produce cables packed with jelly. He immediately discovered that his company's income was erratic and correlated with the cost of his raw materials, copper and aluminium. He made the decision to manufacture the metals rather than purchase them in order to reduce his input expenses. In 1993, Sterlite Industries became the first private sector company in India to set up a copper smelter and refinery.

In 2003, Anil Agarwal and his group established Vedanta Resources Plc in London. On 10 December 2003, Vedanta Resources became the parent company of the group through an internal restructure of group companies and their shareholders. At the time of its listing, Vedanta Resources Plc was the first Indian company to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2020, his net worth was estimated at £8.5 billion.