Born in Patna, Bihar, in 1954, Anil Agarwal is the self-made founder and chairman of Vedanta Resources, one of the world's largest diversified natural resource companies. Agarwal emerged from a modest Marwari business family; his father ran a small aluminum conductor workshop. Unlike many of his peers, Agarwal possessed an intense, early desire for entrepreneurship that superseded formal higher education.

He left school at the age of 15 and, at 19, made the pivotal decision to leave Patna for Mumbai (then Bombay) with little money but immense determination. His formative years in the city were marked by hard work and resilience, starting by collecting and trading scrap metal from cable companies. This scrap trading provided him with a crucial, ground-level understanding of the metals market, networks, and the logistics that would later become the core engine of his massive empire.

Anil Agarwal’s career is the quintessential self-made success story, built on audacious strategic acquisitions and vertical integration. The turning point came in 1976 when he secured a bank loan and founded Hamsher Sterling Corporation, initially manufacturing enameled copper. In 1986, he founded Sterlite Industries to manufacture jelly-filled cables, strategically capitalizing on India’s opening telecommunications sector.

The next decade saw his aggressive pivot into primary metals production. He acquired a defunct Madras Aluminium plant and, in 1993, Sterlite became the first private sector firm in India to establish a copper smelter and refinery. His strategy was to buy low-cost, struggling, state-owned assets and apply private sector efficiency to turn them profitable—a playbook he executed spectacularly with the acquisition of majority stakes in Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) and Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) from the Indian government in the early 22000s. He later founded Vedanta Resources, consolidating his vast, diversified empire in copper, zinc, aluminum, and iron ore into a global powerhouse.

Anil Agarwal is a major global philanthropist and one of the first Indian billionaires to sign the Giving Pledge, committing to donate 75% of his wealth to charity. His philanthropic efforts are channeled through the Vedanta Foundation and the Anil Agarwal Foundation, focusing on health, education, and animal welfare.

His largest-scale project is the vision for a massive, multi-billion dollar world-class university in Odisha, India (Vedanta University project), focused on education and research. This commitment to higher education and nation-building is a core part of his legacy. Furthermore, his wife, Kiran Agarwal, chairs Hindustan Zinc, demonstrating the family's deep commitment to corporate social responsibility in the industrial regions they operate, providing a structural social contribution through employment and community programs.

Anil Agarwal maintains an unassuming, almost austere style, which belies his immense global wealth. His attire is typically conservative, favoring simple, traditional Indian wear or basic business suits. His style reflects his Marwari heritage and his dedication to work over flash. He is a strict vegetarian and an enthusiast of cycling, reflecting a focus on health and simplicity.

Though he now resides in London, his lifestyle is dominated by his industrial operations and philanthropic missions rather than high-society leisure. His luxury is the power to command multi-billion dollar mining and metal operations across continents. His personal life is private, shared with his wife, Kiran, an author, poet, and business leader. The largest statement of his wealth is his philanthropic commitment to build a world-class university in India, a massive dedication of capital to nation-building.