The economic slowdown has had a massive impact on Britain’s richest man, the steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, causing him a £16.6 billion credit loss in just four months, reports Times Online.

A multi-billionaire, Mittal (58), has emerged as the highest loser among the 10 super-rich losers, which also includes Mike Ashley, the owner of Newcastle United football club and the retailer Sports Direct. The credit crunch losses were decided by comparing the value of shareholdings around the world held by those near the top of the Sunday Times Rich List at their peak with the value at the close of last Friday’s markets. Mittal’s family stake in Arcelor Mittal dropped from £33.24 billion on June 4 this year to £16.63 billion at the close of Friday’s markets, equating to a loss of £137 million per day, and nearly £6 million an hour.

Mittal’s son Aditya was recently interviewed for  the launch issue of Indian GQ magazine in September, and was quite critical about wealth. Fearing that evil of luxury might affect his two young children, he said, "Money is a curse. It breaks my heart when I take them on a vacation in a private jet. They are not even two or three! When are they going to see a normal airport? It’s horrible."

He'll have a bit less to worry about now. X