From a small construction business in 1969 to a global industrial group, the Ruia family is now expanding Essar’s American steel ambitions.
The Editorial Team of Behind The Headlines reports that the Ruia family, which founded Essar in 1969, is at the centre of one of the largest new Indian investments in the United States: an approximately $18-billion integrated steel and mining expansion linking iron ore operations in Minnesota with a proposed major steel complex in Iowa.
From family business to Essar
The Essar story began with brothers Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia. The family traces its business roots to their father, Nand Kishore Ruia, with Shashi and Ravi formally establishing Essar in 1969. The company initially focused on construction before expanding into infrastructure and other industrial businesses.
Over the following decades, Essar expanded into sectors including energy, infrastructure, metals and mining, and technology and retail. The group has also built businesses outside India, turning what began as a family enterprise into a multinational investment platform.
The name Essar itself comes from the initials of the two founding brothers — S and R, pronounced “Essar”.
Who are the key Ruias?
The family business has moved through generations while remaining closely controlled by the founding family.
Ravi Ruia, one of Essar's two founders, has been involved in the group's international expansion and investment strategy. Essar says he has overseen globalisation plans covering markets including the US, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Prashant Ruia, Shashi Ruia's son, represents the second generation. He has been involved with Essar since the 1980s and currently serves as Director of Essar Capital, the investment manager of Essar Global Fund. He has played a major role in managing and diversifying the group's portfolio.
Anshuman Ruia, another member of the second generation, has been associated with Essar's BPO and power businesses and has also worked on diversification into renewable energy and transmission and distribution.
Rewant Ruia, from the next generation, is chairman of Mesabi Metallics, the Essar-backed US company at the centre of the new American steel expansion. He has experience across oil and gas, refining, metals and mining and retail.
Shashi Ruia, who co-founded Essar with Ravi, died in November 2024. Essar describes him as a first-generation industrialist who helped build the group's presence across India's industrial and infrastructure sectors.
What exactly is the $18-billion US investment?
The headline figure of $18 billion covers a broader US metals strategy rather than just one factory.
At its centre is a proposed steel complex in Iowa, with an announced investment of about $15 billion. The facility is planned to eventually produce up to 10 million tonnes of steel annually. The project is expected to begin production around 2030 if development proceeds as planned.
The other important part is Essar's iron-ore operation in Minnesota. The plan is to connect the Minnesota mining operation with the Iowa steel complex, creating an integrated “mine-to-mill” supply chain inside the United States.
The precise Iowa site has not been publicly finalised in all project announcements, with the development described as being in eastern Iowa.
Why is the US project significant?
The proposed facility would substantially expand domestic steelmaking capacity in the US. The company expects the project to create thousands of construction jobs and more than 1,700 permanent positions, although employment estimates vary slightly between announcements and stages of the project.
For Essar, the project also represents a major continuation of its international metals strategy.
For the US, the investment fits into a broader push to expand domestic manufacturing and steel production. The Trump administration has highlighted the project as an example of investment moving production into the country, while US steel tariffs have been part of its broader trade policy.
The Ruia family's business model
Essar today operates differently from a traditional publicly listed conglomerate. Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL) is the family's investment platform, while Essar Capital acts as its investment manager. The group says its portfolio is concentrated around four broad sectors: energy, infrastructure, metals and mining, and technology and retail.
The group has also sold or monetised several businesses over the years. Essar says its telecom, BPO and oil-and-gas businesses have attracted more than $40 billion in cumulative monetisation proceeds from global companies, including Vodafone, Rosneft, Trafigura and Brookfield.
That history helps explain the family's current focus: building large industrial assets, developing them over time and selectively monetising businesses when opportunities arise.
A family business entering another generation
The $18-billion US announcement is therefore more than a steel project. It also marks the latest chapter in a family enterprise that began in India nearly six decades ago.
From Nand Kishore Ruia and the founding generation, through brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia, to the second and third generations now involved in Essar's global businesses, management of the group has remained closely linked to the Ruia family.
The US steel expansion puts that model on a much larger American industrial stage, with Minnesota iron ore and Iowa steelmaking intended to form an integrated supply chain.
Whether the full project reaches its planned scale will depend on financing, construction, permits, infrastructure and execution over the coming years. For now, the announcement places the Ruias and Essar among the Indian business families making a major new industrial commitment in the United States.