Britain’s richest man dead at 85

Hinduja died on Tuesday in London after a long illness, according to a spokesperson. The Hinduja family topped the Sunday Times Rich List this year, with a collective net worth of $A70 billion – a rise of $A13 billion from 2022. In a heartfelt statement, the family said: “He will leave a deep hole at the heart of our family. “He will also be remembered for his formidable work.” Gopichand is survived by his wife, Sunita, and their two sons Sanjay and Dheeraj, and their daughter, Rita. Nicknamed “GP”, he co-chaired the family business with his older brother Srichand, who died in 2023. Gopichand’s lavish London home was an 18th-century mansion on Carlton House Terrace, overlooking St James’s Park and close to Buckingham Palace. The 6225 square metres pad was once considered to be worth about $800 million. Gopichand was the second-eldest of four brothers who controlled the lucrative business for decades. The brothers moved to London from India in the 1970s, where they continued to build the highly successful Hinduja Group Ltd. It now employs more than 150,000 people worldwide and the company operates in 48 countries. The family have numerous business interests across banking, oil, real estate and entertainment. The Hinduja Group is divided in eleven sectors including automotive, oil and speciality chemicals, banking and finance, IT and ITeS, cyber security, healthcare, trading, infrastructure project development, media and entertainment, power, and real estate. And although they are often out of the limelight, the family do occasionally flex their financial muscles. Jennifer Lopez and Nicole Scherzinger were reportedly paid a total of $A2 million to sing at the 2015 wedding of Gopi’s son Sanjay to fashion designer Anu Mahtani. The Hinduja family regularly tops the Sunday Times list of the UK’s 350 richest people. Hinduja patriarch Srichand and his brothers Gopichand, Prakash and Ashok built the company up after it was established by their late-father Parmanand – leading them to being dubbed the ‘Fab Four’. Together, the brothers – who employ 200,000 people – bought multiple homes, including the 18th century mansion in London’s Carlton House Terrace. The incredible 60-room building is the former head office of the Crown Estate and was reportedly bought from the Queen. It took them five years to restore the mansion, carved out of four listed interconnected six-storey buildings and now worth more than $A500 million. Their property portfolio also includes the historic Old War Office (OWO) building in Whitehall, which they have turned into a luxury development. Sri Hinduja, also known as Srichand Parmanand Hinduja, was the oldest brother of the Hinduja family but he died on May 17, 2023, at the age of 87 in London. Gopi was the co-chairman of the family business, Hinduja Group, before his brother’s death. The family have also met Princess Anne and the late Queen after attending Diwali celebrations at their London home. King Charles was also pictured enjoying a drink as he chatted to Gopi at a 2019 even and also sent the family a special Diwali message three years later. This story first appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission.