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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Jasper Jolly

Sunil Bharti Mittal: who is the Indian tycoon now BT’s largest shareholder?

Sunil Bharti Mittal Lakshmi Mittal India BT Narendra Modi United Kingdom
Sunil Bharti Mittal
Sunil Bharti Mittal has British financial interests, particularly in hospitality. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

As India’s economy has risen in recent decades, so have a clutch of billionaires who control key industries. For Sunil Bharti Mittal, the rise might appear almost foreordained: Bharti is derived from Bharat, the Hindi name for India.

Mittal used his middle name for Bharti Enterprises, the conglomerate he started in 1976 as a small manufacturer. But it is in telecoms where he made his fortune as India’s demand for data has boomed. Bharti Airtel counted 400 million Indian customers last year, 150 million in Africa, plus another 60 million in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

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