Indian businessman
Gopichand Parmanand Hinduja (Sindhi: गोपीचंद परमानंद हिंदुजा, گوپيچند پرمانند هندوجا) (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 2023 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK he was placed 1st with an estimated family fortune of £35billion.[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 August 2022, together with his late brother Srichand he is the UK's richest man.[6] Since the 1990s, he has been consistently ranked among the UK and Asia's wealthiest people. In May 2017, Hinduja topped the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated wealth of GBP 16.2 billion ($21 billion). Based on the rich list compiled by Asian Media & Marketing Group, Hinduja's wealth is estimated at GBP 19 billion ($24.7 billion).[7] The Forbes List in March 2018 ranked he and his brother GP as the world's 55th richest billionaire family with an estimated wealth of $19.5 billion.[8]
In May 2019 The Hinduja brothers, Gopichand and Srichand, were once again named by the Time UK as the UK's wealthiest people, according to the annual Rich List survey.[9]
Early life
Gopichand Parmanand Hinduja was born on 29 January 1940, the son of Parmanand Hinduja, and educated at Jai Hind College, Bombay.[10]
Personal life
He is married to Sunita Hinduja, and they have two sons and one daughter, Sanjay Hinduja, Dheeraj Hinduja and Rita Hinduja.[10][11] The Hinduja family is of Sindhi heritage.[12]
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, Arjun Kapoor and Nicole Scherzinger.[13]
Citizenship
Gopichand obtained British citizenship in 1997.[14]
