This post is part of our feature on Money Losers of 2008. See all 20.

Being number four on the Forbes list of wealthiest persons in the world can't be too bad. That's where British-Indian industrialist Lakshmi Mittal found himself earlier this year, up one place from the year before. His estimated $45 billion placed him just behind Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Carlos Slim. But that was before he lost $30.5 billion this year.

Now a resident of London, Mittal was the founder of steelmaker Mittal. Upon its merger with French steelmaker to become ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT), the world's largest steel producer, he became the new conglomerate's chairman and CEO. ArcelorMittal's stock price was up around $104 per share this past June. But after increased production cuts due to the sudden fall in demand for steel in the past six months, the price has since dropped to around $25 a share now. Mittal, who owns 43 percent of the company, has seen a commensurate drop in value.

Mittal had been pursuing the acquisition of a controlling stake in Dillinger Hütte, a German steelmaker, which would have helped shore up ArcelorMittal during these difficult global economic conditions. He had wanted to engineer a full takeover of Dillinger as a way to boost the overall technological capabilities of ArcelorMittal, but it didn't quite work out. As a sort of consolation prize, the company will receive about $1 billion for a portion of its stake in the German company.

The Times of London reports that Lakshmi Mittal, an Indian steel magnate, is purchasing a $230 million London home from U.S. hedge fund manager, Noam Gottesman.

Mittal is Britain's richest man who is spending about $16,000 a square foot for the detached residence on Palace Green, an extension of Kensington Palace Gardens, where several billionaires have their London homes. The $230 million price is 40% more than the previous record of $160 million for property in London's nearby Upper Phillimore Gardens.

Gottesman is fairly well off. His net worth has been estimated at $920 million. But if this sale goes through, he will be a billionaire.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter.

Seems the world economy is growing and changing so fast that staying on top for very long will become harder. Carlos Slim of Mexico did not retain the title very long, as CNBC is reporting Meet the World's New 'Richest Person' -- For Now, a story about Mukesh Ambani. It has been reported that he is just completing a ONE BILLION DOLLAR HOME! Here's how the Indian press reports rank the world's top five richest people as of today, based on known public stock holdings:

• Mukesh Ambani - $63.2 billion
• Carlos Slim Helu - $62.2993 billion
• William (Bill) Gates - $62.29 billion
• Warren Buffett - $55.9 billion
• Lakshmi Mittal - $50.9 billion

To me, this all amounts to creating headlines, since the slight difference between one, two, and three could be altered with a single day's stock movement. Given that Ambani is on the other side of the world with great fortunes in Europe and Asia it could change back and forth depending on which stock exchanges are open at the time. In a rising market you could go to sleep as the richest person in the world and wake up to find you were overtaken, only to find by the close of the market you were on top again.

What's more important is who is taking what actions. What are these supernova rich guys doing with their wealth? In the case of Gates and Buffett, they have become the world's biggest philanthropists. Carlos Slim has expressed a desire to share his wealth as well by setting up a $10 billion foundation -- I'm not sure how far he has gone with that idea. Mittal is still busy buying up all the steel production on the planet, and is now the largest player in the market. That will increase his wealth for now. On the other hand, the Hunt Brothers of Texas thought that way in the 1970s about silver, and found out rather quickly that was not their brightest idea. Steel is likely a much better bet.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: GameStop (GME), Brocade (BRCD), Tween Brands (TWB), Plantronics (PLT) and Arcelor Mittal (MT) were today's more notable upgrades:

• First Albany sees upside potential in GameStop (NYSE: GME) through 2008 and upgraded shares to Strong Buy from Buy.

• JMP Securities upgraded Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) to Market Outperform from Market Perform on valuation.

• Tween Brands (NYSE: TWB) was upgraded to Buy from Sell on valuation at Matrix USA.

• JMP Securities' checks indicate Altec Lansing's im600 iPod docking station/FM radio is selling better than expected, and upgraded shares of Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) to Market Outperform from Market Perform.

• Merrill upgraded shares of Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the company's inclusion in the Euro Stoxx 50 Index in September as well as the positive global carbon steel environment...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Pepsi Bottling (NYSE: PBG) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC.

• Morgan Stanley raised RF Micro Devices (NASDAQ: RFMD) to Equal Weight from Underweight.

• Matrix upgraded Barr Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: BRL) to Buy from Hold.

• Jefferies upgraded Advanced Medical (NYSE: EYE) to Hold from Underperform.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) implied volatility of 39 above 26-week average of 34.

MT, a global steel producer, with a market cap of $82 billion, closed at $59.60. Bank of America said on 8/23 that the company is "well positioned for Long Term value creation; initiate with a Buy." MT overall option implied volatility of 39 is above its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) implied volatility of 39 above 26-week average of 34.

NUE is engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. NUE closed at $51.53. Merrill Lynch upgraded NUE to Buy from Neutral reports DJ. NUE over all option implied volatility of 39 is above its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) has launched a new, free Web-based email, called Windows Live Hotmail, available in 36 different languages.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that House lawmakers will challenge a deal made by House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank and the U.S. Treasury to overhaul the supervision of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE).
• The Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column wrote that investors are betting that dealmaking is not done in commodities, with United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) and Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) among those that could receive takeover offers.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) "Alphaville" section reported that Arcelor-Mittal (NYSE: MT) is looking at AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS), with a offer of as mush as $40 a share.

OTHER PAPERS:

• The New York Times reported, citing investigators, that Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) is preparing to acknowledge that it should have known kickbacks were being paid to Saddam Hussein on oil the company bought in Iraq.

WEBSITES:

• DigiTimes.com reported that Aruba Networks Inc (NASDAQ: ARUN) CEO Dominic Orr said that the company is expecting to nearly double its share in the global enterprise mobility solution market in 2008 from 10%-12% to around 20%.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) is reportedly attempting to tighten its financial reporting procedures, the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported. The auto maker is under investigation by the SEC and a federal grand jury for its accounting of transactions as far back as 2000.
• The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) is in talks with India's Reliance Industries for a joint venture that would enable Dow to reduce its exposure to commodity products and gain access to cheaper raw materials. Indian newspapers report that a deal could lead to a full takeover by Reliance.

OTHER PAPERS:

• According to the Korea Economic Daily, citing an unnamed Posco ADS (NYSE: PKX) executive, a senior Arcelor Mittal Steel Company (NYSE: MT) executive expressed interest in Posco's merger plans. Posco denied the report, saying "There was no discussion on issues related to M&A when the Mittal executive met Posco CEO last month," according to the Economic Times.
• The Independent reported that Imperial Tobacco Group plc (NYSE: ITY) has made a GBP7.6B bid for the Franco-Spanish tobacco company Altadis. The private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is also reported to have interest in acquiring Altadis. An Imperial-Altadis merger could derail a hostile bid by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
  
• BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" section mentioned Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE: NEM), CB Richard Ellis Group Inc (NYSE: CBG) and Superior Energy Services Inc (NYSE: SPN) positively.
• Which gold producer will shine brightest? Newmont Mining "is the one," says Vincent Carrino, Chief of Brookhaven Capital Management, which has loaded up on its stock.
  
• Douglas Roberts at Channel Capital Research Institute doesn't see the Fed cutting rates soon, and hence he likes CB Richard Ellis Group.
• Superior Energy Services aims to be everything to oil-and-gas explorers in the Gulf of Mexico, and in most cases it is. "Superior can't keep up with the tremendous demand for its repair and recovery services, which will provide strong growth through the end of the decade," says Martin Sass, CEO of MDSass, which owns a 1.2% stake.

The global consolidation in the steel industry continues apace. The latest mega deal is Tata Steel's $7.7 billion purchase of Corus Group (which is the former British Steel company).

The combined company will be ranked #5 worldwide in the steel business.

True, there is talk of other bidders coming to the table, such as SeverStal, Novolipetsk and CSN. However, based on the current valuation – and deal terms – a hostile bid would certainly be pricey and time-consuming. Corus is selling at roughly 6.6x EBITDA. Keep in mind that Mittal's deal for Arcelor was for a value of 4.8x EBITDA.

Success in the steel business is about huge scale – on a global basis. It helps these companies get contracts as well as realize economies of scale. Combine this with the growth in steel in emerging markets – such as China and India – these mega deals make a lot of sense.

What's more, this is an early sign of the rise of India's economic power on the global stage.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.