The Essar Group is back in the global spotlight after announcing a massive steel investment in the United States. Behind the business is the story of brothers Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia, who transformed a modest infrastructure company into a diversified global business empire.
The Ruia brothers founded Essar in 1969 after securing a ₹2.5-crore contract to construct an outer breakwater at Chennai port. At a time when large infrastructure projects were often handled by foreign companies, the project marked the beginning of Essar's expansion.
Shashi Ruia, the elder brother, joined the family business in 1965 under their father Nand Kishore Ruia. Ravi Ruia, an engineer by training, later joined him. The name Essar itself comes from the initials of the brothers' names, S and R.
Over the following decades, Essar expanded well beyond construction. The group entered shipping, steel, energy, power, ports and telecommunications. It bought its first tanker in 1976 and later established major industrial operations across India.
The company also became an early private player in India's telecom sector. Through Vodafone Essar, it built a significant presence in the industry before eventually monetising its stake. Essar also developed Aegis, a major business-process outsourcing company.
One of Essar's biggest transactions came in 2017, when the group sold 98.26% of Essar Oil to a consortium involving Russia's Rosneft and Trafigura-UCP for $12.9 billion. The deal included the Vadinar refinery, port and power infrastructure and a large fuel-retail network.
The Ruias also sold their stake in Vodafone Essar for $5.46 billion in 2011.
However, Essar's expansion was accompanied by substantial debt. Essar Steel eventually entered India's insolvency process, with the Ruia family making a ₹54,389-crore proposal to settle creditors' claims. The proposal was ultimately rejected, and ArcelorMittal acquired Essar Steel through the insolvency process.
The group subsequently focused on reducing its debt by selling assets. Essar has said that it repaid around ₹1.4 lakh crore of debt by 2019 through asset monetisation and other measures.
The US has now become a major part of Essar's next phase. Through Mesabi Metallics, the group has been developing an iron ore project in Minnesota. Essar says the project has involved more than $1.8 billion in investment and is designed to produce around 7 million tonnes of direct-reduction-grade iron ore pellets annually.
In September 2026, the Minnesota mine began operations, with Essar describing it as the first new iron ore mine in the United States in more than five decades.
The latest proposal takes the US strategy further. Essar-backed Mesabi Metallics is developing a large steel plant in Iowa, with the first phase expected to produce 7.5 million tonnes of steel annually and eventual capacity projected at around 10 million tonnes.
Shashi Ruia died in November 2024 at the age of 81. Ravi Ruia has continued to play a major role in Essar's international expansion. The next generation is also involved, including Rewant Ruia, who chairs the executive board of Mesabi Metallics.
From a ₹2.5-crore port project in Chennai to a multibillion-dollar integrated steel strategy in the US, the Ruia family's business journey has moved through construction, steel, energy, telecom, ports and global asset sales. The latest American investment puts steel once again at the centre of Essar's international ambitions.
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