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The industrialist Gopichand Hinduja, whose family business made him the richest man in the UK, has died aged 85.
Hinduja died on Tuesday after a long illness, according to people familiar with the situation.
The publicity-shy Hinduja family has a net worth of £35.3bn, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, thanks to its ownership of the Hinduja Group, which invests in everything from banking and real estate to oil, entertainment and commercial vehicles.
Hinduja and his older brother Srichand moved to London in the 1980s, from where they ran the Hinduja Group. Srichand died in 2023.
Known as “GP”, Hinduja, who joined his family business in 1959, helped transform his family’s modest trading operation, founded in India and Iran in the early 20th century, into a major conglomerate.
The Hinduja family said in a statement: “He was humble and joyful, and a friend to everyone he met . . . He will also be remembered for his formidable work in building the Hinduja Group over the past 70 years into the global success it is today.” He is survived by his wife and three children.
Sukhpal Ahluwalia, a British entrepreneur who had known Hinduja for 20 years, said he showed “what can be done by people with very humble beginnings.” He added that Hinduja was “jovial, the soul of the party”.
It was unclear if the group’s leadership would pass on to one of Hinduja’s two remaining brothers. Ashok, the youngest, heads the conglomerate’s India operations, including its flagship businesses in that country: the truck and bus maker Ashok Leyland and IndusInd Bank.
The family’s reputation was tested last year when four of its members, including Hinduja’s brother Prakash, chair of the Hinduja Group in Europe, were convicted by a Geneva court of exploiting their domestic staff. They are appealing against the conviction. A judgment is not considered final in Switzerland until all avenues of appeal have been exhausted.
The four Hinduja brothers had also been involved in litigation against one another in recent years concerning ownership of assets and power of attorney. A judge in London raised concerns that the care of Srichand, who had been suffering from dementia, had been “marginalised” because of a family feud. The Hinduja family settled the litigation.
Much like his elder brother, Hinduja was a consummate networker, a courter of politicians across the spectrum, and a host of lavish parties — including an annual Diwali bash at his London mansion.
On occasion, his cultivation of political ties tripped him up. Hinduja was involved in controversy in 2001 when it was revealed he had written to Lord Peter Mandelson, then a government minister, about obtaining a UK passport for Prakash.
The Hinduja Foundation, the brothers’ charitable arm, had donated £1mn to the Millennium Dome in London, which had been part of Mandelson’s responsibility. Mandelson resigned as a minister, but was later cleared by an inquiry.
A teetotaller and vegetarian like his siblings, Hinduja maintained a reputation for opulence. Jennifer Lopez performed at his son Sanjay’s wedding a decade ago in Udaipur, a city of lakes in India’s Rajasthan.
Hinduja was also known for his religious and astrological beliefs and once professed that “I strongly believe in planets”.
News of his death drew tributes from some of India’s most powerful business and political leaders.
“Through his remarkable leadership, the Hinduja Group became a symbol of Indian enterprise and global excellence,” steel tycoon and Indian MP Naveen Jindal wrote on X.
N Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh — who was visiting London and on Monday announced $2.3bn worth of investment commitments from the Hinduja Group in his state — called Hinduja a “visionary industrialist”.
“He was instrumental in transforming the group into a truly global conglomerate,” Naidu said on X. “His leadership saw landmark achievements, from the acquisition of Gulf Oil in 1984 to the revival of Ashok Leyland.”
In 2023, the Hinduja Group opened a £1.4bn luxury hotel in the former War Office on Whitehall at the heart of political London. Guests at the Old War Office (OWO) can sleep in Sir Winston Churchill’s former office for £18,000-£25,000 a night.
Hinduja previously told the Financial Times: “The OWO will be my greatest legacy to London.”
