The 58-year-old Mittal heads a list of ten super-rich losers who together have seen their share portfolios shrink by about 23 billion pounds from their peaks, The Sunday Times claimed.

Another NRI entrepreneur Anil Agarwal, who built up his metals empire, has seen his stock plummet by 2.7 billion pounds.

The height of Mittal's losses dwarfs those of others in the list of top 10 losers, which include Mike Ashley, the beleaguered owner of Newcastle United football club and the retailer Sports Direct.

Mittal has seen his family's stake in ArcelorMittal, the steel conglomerate, fall from 33.24 billion pounds on June 4 this year to 16.63 billion pounds at the close of Friday's markets. The loss is equivalent to 137 million pounds a day or nearly 6 million pounds an hour.

The credit crunch losses were established by comparing the value of shareholdings around the world held by them at their peak with the value at the close of markets last Friday.

Tim Bouquet, author of a book on Lakshmi Mittal, said the tycoon's lifestyle was well suited to less ostentatious times.

"He's very careful with money, he knows where most of the pennies go," Bouquet said. "He likes to joke that on his plane he serves pizza rather than champagne. Mittal's idea of a good time is to order Chinese takeaway from Zen Central in Mayfair in London."