Know Lord Swraj Paul, second richest person in British Midlands

New Delhi: Lord Swraj Paul who owns the steel and engineering empire under the name of Caparo Group has been declared as the second richest person in British Midlands and one of the wealthiest in the country. Soaring worldwide growth of the Caparo Group, has elevated the family's worth to the two billion pound mark. Lord Swraj Paul is an Indian-born, British-based business magnate, philanthropist, and Labour politician. He was born in Jalandhar, Punjab in 1931. His father ran a small foundry, making steel buckets and farming equipment. Later his father grown his business to many folds, his business venture was Apeejay-Surrendra Group now known as Apeejayin India. Paul did his initial education from Forman Christian College in Lahore, and later obtained BSc, MSc and MechE degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. After completing his studies from MIT he joined his father's business. In 1966 he relocated to the United Kingdom to get medical treatment for his young daughter, who had leukemia. He spent a year getting over her death, after which he founded Natural Gas Tubes Starting with one steel unit, he went on to acquire more. This led to his founding the Caparo Group in 1968, which is now one of the leading UK manufacturers of steel products such as, steel tubes, merchant bars, and structurals, as well as high value engineering products for various industries. Paul was presented with the International Indian of the Decade award on 15 November 2013 for his outstanding achievements in the fields of industry, education and philanthropy. He was made the Life Peer is a member of the House of Lords in 1996 and donated 1 million pounds to prevent the London Zoo closure in 1994. He became the first Indian-born Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords in 2008 and was also appointed to the Privy Council in 2009. From 2000 to 2008, he was the member of the London Development Agency. He chaired the London Development Agency Olympics Delivery Committee between 2005 to 2008, which was responsible for delivering the land and infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympic Games on time and on budget. In 1983 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. In 1998, he was granted the freedom of the city of London. Universities of UK, USA, Switzerland and India has awarded him 15 honorary degrees.