Gopichand P. Hinduja, the billionaire patriarch of Britain’s richest family whose business empire straddles automotive, banking, energy and infrastructure, died in London on Tuesday. He was 85.
Known in business circles as ‘GP’, Gopichand was the second of the four Hinduja brothers who built the group into a global conglomerate, having companies such as Ashok Leyland, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Capital and Indo Gulf Industries, among others, under its portfolio.
After the death of his elder brother Srichand Hinduja in 2023, he took charge as the chairman of the £35-billion Hinduja group.
He is survived by his wife, Sunita, sons Sanjay and Dheeraj, and daughter Rita.
A graduate of Jai Hind College, Mumbai (1959), Gopichand began his career in the family’s trading business in Tehran before expanding its reach across continents.
Under his leadership, the group acquired Gulf Oil in 1984, closely followed by the acquisition of the then-struggling Indian automotive manufacturer Ashok Leyland in 1987, which was the first major NRI investment in India.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu termed Gopichand P. Hinduja as “a visionary industrialist”, who was “instrumental in transforming the group into a truly global conglomerate”.
Naveen Jindal, chairman of Jindal Steel, said, “Through his remarkable leadership, the Hinduja group became a symbol of Indian enterprise and global excellence. His legacy of integrity, innovation and service will continue to inspire generations”.
Gopichand Hinduja and his family retained their position as Britain’s wealthiest, according to the latest The Sunday Times Rich List, despite a drop in their overall fortune. The Hinduja family’s net worth stands at £35.3 billion.
Their UK property assets include the 67,000 square feet 18th-century Carlton House Terrace near Buckingham Palace and the historic Old War Office building in Whitehall, now home to the Raffles London hotel, which opened in September 2023 to great fanfare.
After Gopichand’s death, business observers would look for news on who would succeed him as the chairman of the group. Under the present structure, his brother Prakash Hinduja is chairman of Hinduja Group (Europe) and Ashok Hinduja is the chairman of the Hinduja Group of Companies in India.
The family recently sparred over the vast wealth. After the death of the eldest brother, Srichand, in 2023, it emerged that Gopichand and his two younger brothers — Prakash, 79, and Ashok, 74, had been fighting over the past three years with the patriarch and his daughter, Vinoo, over a 2014 letter signed by the four siblings that said assets held by one of them belonged to all.