Gopichand Hinduja Explained

Gopichand Hinduja
Birth Name:Gopichand Parmanand Hinduja
Birth Date:29 January 1940
Nationality:Indian, British
Alma Mater:Jai Hind College
Occupation:Co-Chairman, Hinduja Group
Spouse:Sunita Hinduja
Parents:Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja
Jamuna Parmanand Hinduja
Children:3, including Dheeraj Hinduja
Relatives:S. P. Hinduja and Prakash Hinduja (brothers)

Gopichand Parmanand Hinduja (born 29 January 1940) is an Indian-British billionaire businessman controlling the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group. For many years he was co-chairman with his brother Srichand "S. P." Hinduja who died in May 2023. He and his brother were frequently named among the wealthiest people in the UK and Asia, and in the Sunday Times Rich List 2024 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK he was placed first with an estimated family fortune of £37 billion.[1]

Business career

The Hinduja brothers began their careers in their father's textile and trading businesses in Bombay, India, and Tehran, Iran.[2] Successful early businesses included the sale of food commodities (onions and potatoes) and iron ore from India to Iran.[3]

With the acquisition of Ashok Leyland (from British Leyland) and Gulf Oil (from Chevron) in the 1980s and the establishment of banks in Switzerland and India in the 1990s, Hinduja Group became one of India's best known businesses alongside such names as Tata, Birla, and Ambani.[4] In 2012, the Group acquired the US firm Houghton International, the world's largest metal fluids manufacturer, for $1.045 billion, forming a consortium with the help of Ghouse Mohammed Asif, (Director of Private Equity of JP Morgan) and Hank Paulson, former United States Secretary of the Treasury and formerly of Goldman Sachs.[5]

Wealth

As of May 2024 he is estimated to be the UK's richest person.[6] [7] Since the 1990s, he has been consistently ranked among the UK and Asia's wealthiest people.

In 2013, a rich list compiled by Asian Media & Marketing Group, estimated Hinduja's wealth at GBP 19 billion ($24.7 billion).[8] In May 2017, Hinduja topped the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated wealth of GBP 16.2 billion ($21 billion). The Forbes List in March 2018 ranked him and his brother as the world's 55th richest billionaire family with an estimated wealth of $19.5 billion.[9]

In May 2019 The Hinduja brothers, Gopichand and Srichand, were once again named by The Times UK as the UK's wealthiest people, according to the annual Sunday Times Rich List survey.[10]

Hinduja remained in the top spot in 2022,[11] with his estimated wealth growing to an estimated £35Bn in 2023 and £37.2Bn in 2024.[7]

Early life

Gopichand Parmanand Hinduja was born on 29 January 1940, the son of Parmanand Hinduja, and educated at Jai Hind College, Bombay.[12]

Personal life

He is married to Sunita Hinduja, and they have two sons and one daughter, Sanjay Hinduja, Dheeraj Hinduja and Rita Hinduja.[13] The Hinduja family is of Sindhi heritage.[14]

In 2015, their son Sanjay Hinduja married his long-time girlfriend, the designer Anu Mahtani, in Udaipur, India. The wedding cost £15 million and entertainment included the pop singers Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Scherzinger and actor Arjun Kapoor.[15]

Citizenship

Gopichand obtained British citizenship in 1997.[16]

Notes and References

  1. News: The Sunday Times Rich List 2024. 17 May 2024. The Sunday Times. Watts, Robert. 17 May 2024.
  2. Web site: The world is their bazaar . Pranaygupte.com . 28 December 1987 . 21 August 2012 . 19 January 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150119120351/http://www.pranaygupte.com/article.php?index=590 . dead .
  3. Book: The New Maharajahs: The Commercial Princes of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh – Claudia Cragg – Google Books . 21 August 2012. 9780712677615 . 1996 . Cragg . Claudia . Claudia Cragg .
  4. Web site: Hinduja to launch $500-mn infra fund . Business-standard.com . 18 April 2012 . 21 August 2012.
  5. News: Hindujas' Gulf Oil agrees $1bn US deal . https://web.archive.org/web/20121114053234/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a0472464-28e2-11e2-b92c-00144feabdc0.html . 14 November 2012 . subscription . bot: unknown . 7 November 2012 . Financial Times . 20 June 2015 . James Crabtree .
  6. Web site: The Sunday Times Rich List 2024 revealed . The Times . 17 May 2024 . en . 17 May 2024 . subscription.
  7. News: Rich List puts Bamford in Top 20 . 17 May 2024 . Construction Index . 17 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240517085002/https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/rich-list-puts-bamford-in-top-20 . 17 May 2024 . en-gb . live .
  8. News: Mittal loses top spot in rich list . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211191230/https://www.ft.com/content/dc025004-930a-11e2-9593-00144feabdc0#axzz3dbdEP6mh . 11 December 2022 . subscription . live . Business & Economy . 22 March 2013 . The Financial Times Ltd. . 20 June 2015 . Andrew Bounds .
  9. News: Srichand & Gopichand Hinduja . Forbes . https://web.archive.org/web/20130307023920/http://www.forbes.com/profile/srichand-gopichand-hinduja . 7 March 2013 . dead.
  10. News: Hinduja brothers take back top spot in annual Rich List. Connett. David. 11 May 2019. The Observer. 2019-05-12. en-GB. 0029-7712.
  11. Web site: The Sunday Times Rich List 2022. 2023-05-17. thetimes.co.uk.
  12. Book: Europa Publications. The International Who's Who 2004. 22 May 2016. 2003. Psychology Press. 978-1-85743-217-6. 733.
  13. Web site:

    Hinduja Group - Our Group ::

    . Hindujagroup.com. 11 June 2016.
  14. News: Most billionaires in India today once resided in Pakistan's Sindh. Daily Times. Waseem. Palijo. 8 January 2019. 7 May 2020. 7 May 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200507172647/https://dailytimes.com.pk/341601/most-billionaires-in-india-today-once-resided-in-pakistans-sindh/.
  15. Web site: 'India's most eligible bachelor' Sanjay Hinduja marries in £15m ceremony. Telegraph.co.uk. 13 February 2015 . 11 June 2016.
  16. News: Mandelson resigns over passport deception . 24 May 2023 . The Guardian . 1 February 2001.