Gopichand Hinduja, the top of UK’s richest household, dies aged 85 | EUROtoday

The head of Britain’s richest household, Gopichand Hinduja, has died aged 85.

Known as GP, Mr Hinduja and his household made their fortune from the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, which operates in 11 sectors together with finance, media and leisure, and oil.

It has about 200,000 employees world wide.

The household mentioned in an announcement: “He will leave a deep hole at the heart of our family.”

They added that he could be “remembered for his formidable work”.

Mr Hinduja helped remodel his father’s modest textile and buying and selling companies into a worldwide conglomerate and considered one of India’s largest firms.

Mr Hinduja and his household topped the latest Sunday Times Rich List with a internet price of £35.3bn. They additionally ranked eleventh on the Forbes record of India’s 100 richest businesspeople in 2024.

Mr Hinduja was the second eldest of 4 brothers who managed the enterprise for many years.

The oldest of the 4, Srichand, died in 2023 at 87.

It will not be recognized who will now take over the management of the conglomerate. The youngest brother, Ashok, runs its operations throughout India together with truck maker Ashok Leyland.

The household additionally personal important actual property in London, together with a lot of massive houses close to to St James’s Park and Winston Churchill’s Old War Office in Whitehall, which has lately been refurbished to incorporate a resort.

Mr Hinduja largely saved out of the general public eye however was concerned within the controversial “Hinduja affair” in 2001, which resulted in Lord Peter Mandelson resigning as an MP.

Mr Hinduja had written to Mr Mandelson about his brother Prakash acquiring British citizenship, after the household’s charity had donated £1m to the Millennium Dome, for which Mr Mandelson was accountable.

Mr Mandelson resigned consequently, however was later cleared of wrongdoing after an inquiry.

Prakash, his spouse, their son and his spouse have been jailed by a Swiss court docket final yr for exploiting home employees of their Geneva mansion.