Mittal is chairman of Bharti Airtel, an Indian telecommunications company. The New Delhi-based business operates in 17 countries, has more than 490 million customers and had revenue of $17.3 billion in the year to March 2023. Bharti Airtel is the world's third biggest mobile service provider based on subscriber numbers.
The majority of Mittal's fortune is derived from his 28% stake in Bharti Airtel, a telecommunications company. His stake is held through closely-held Bharti Enterprises and other holding companies, according to a June 2023 stock exchange filing. Bharti Airtel operates in 17 countries, has more than 490 million customers and is the world's third biggest mobile service provider based on subscriber numbers, according to its website.
His commercial real estate in India is valued at $387 million, based on data from a March 2019 report by rating agency ICRA.
A liability is included based on an analysis of dividends, taxes, market performance and stock transactions.
Prem Subedi, a spokesman for Bharti Enterprises, declined to comment on the net worth calculation.
Sunil Mittal was born in 1957, the middle of three sons of Sat Paul Mittal, a career politician from Punjab.
Mittal enjoyed cricket more than reading books as a child, according to his profile posted on the Harvard Business School website's alumni section. After graduating from Punjab University, Ludhiana in 1976, Mittal started his own small-scale manufacturer of bicycle parts. He gradually expanded into wool blankets and stainless steel surgical equipment.
After relocating to Bombay, he studied Indian import policies and began an import business. He was the country's largest importer of portable generators by the age of 24. A government ban led him importing push-button phones instead.
Mittal built the Bharti group into India's largest mobile phone operator. Bharti Airtel began offering affordable voice and data services in 1994, and has since expanded to more than one dozen countries, including some in Africa.
Mittal is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors, and has served on the Prime Minister of India's Council on Trade & Industry.
Sunil is on Harvard University's Global Advisory Council, Board of Dean's Advisors at HBS, and the governing board of the Indian School of Business.