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Sitting in his luxurious Mayfair residence, the metal king reminisced about a time when his life wasn’t about Rolls-Royces or London mansions. Agarwal shared the now-legendary story of how he left Patna at the tender age of 19 with nothing but a steel tiffin box, some bedding, and a heart full of dreams. He recalled arriving at Mumbai’s Victoria Terminus and being awestruck by the sight of double-decker buses and “kaali-peeli” taxis—sights he had only ever seen in Bollywood movies.
“I didn’t know English, I didn’t have capital, but I had hunger,” Agarwal told Kamiya Jani. He started his journey as a scrap metal dealer, collecting cable scrap from various states to sell in Mumbai. It was this grit, born from those early struggles, that eventually laid the foundation for his Vedanta empire.
Making History at the London Stock Exchange
The conversation then shifted to one of the biggest milestones of his life—becoming the first Indian to list a company on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2003. Agarwal revealed a touching anecdote about his arrival in London for the listing. Feeling overwhelmed by the “big white buildings” and foreign accents, he suddenly spotted a red double-decker bus on the streets of London.
“It reminded me of Mumbai,” he smiled. That simple sight gave him the comfort and confidence that if he could make it in the ‘City of Dreams’ (Mumbai), he could make it in London too. Despite critics telling him that “small birds don’t fly in big skies,” he persisted, eventually ringing the bell at the LSE and putting Indian entrepreneurship on the global map.
A Home That Defies Imagination: The Sinking Pool
The episode also gave viewers an exclusive pass inside Agarwal’s stunning Mayfair home, a property that perfectly blends British heritage with Indian soul. The highlight of the tour was undoubtedly the banquet hall. With the press of a button, the marble floor of the hall slowly sinks into the ground, water rises, and the entire space transforms into a functioning indoor swimming pool.
From a glass elevator to a sun-drenched conservatory where he takes his morning tea, every corner of the house reflects a life of “quiet luxury.” Yet, amidst the opulence of his Rolls-Royce fleet and high-tech amenities, the most important space remains his prayer room—grounding the billionaire in the values he brought with him from Bihar.
To watch the full tour of Anil Agarwal’s transformer-like swimming pool and hear his unfiltered life lessons, tune into the ‘Indians Abroad’ episode on the Curly Tales YouTube channel.
House Tour Of Indian Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s London Home
Relevance: This video is the direct source of the article’s content, featuring the full interview where Anil Agarwal gives a tour of his London home (including the swimming pool mentioned) and discusses his journey from Patna to London with Kamiya Jani.
