Gopichand Hinduja, the head of the UK’s richest family, has passed away at the age of 85. Known as GP, he and his family built their fortune through the Hinduja Group, an Indian conglomerate active in finance, media, entertainment, oil and eight other sectors, employing around 200,000 people worldwide.
The family said in a statement that he would leave “a deep hole at the heart of our family” and would be “remembered for his formidable work”.
GP Hinduja expanded his father’s modest textile and trading businesses into a global conglomerate and one of India’s largest companies. Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer, described him as someone who “personified” the ties between the UK and India and called him “a great champion for our two countries”.
The Hinduja family topped the latest Sunday Times Rich List with a net worth of £35.3bn and ranked 11th on Forbes’ list of India’s richest businesspeople in 2024. GP Hinduja was the second eldest of four brothers, following Srichand, who died in 2023 aged 87.
It is unclear who will now take the lead of the conglomerate. The youngest brother, Ashok, manages its operations in India, including the truck manufacturer Ashok Leyland. The group operates in 48 countries and holds significant property in London, including homes near St James’s Park and the refurbished Old War Office in Whitehall, now partly a hotel.
Though GP Hinduja kept a low public profile, he was linked to the controversial “Hinduja affair” in 2001, which led to the resignation of government minister Peter Mandelson, who was later cleared of wrongdoing. Last year, GP’s brother Prakash and his family were jailed in Switzerland for exploiting domestic staff in their Geneva home.
