Team Blitz India
GOPICHAND Hinduja and his family, which is behind the Indian transnational conglomerate Hinduja Group, has topped the Sunday Times Rich List yet again. According to the list, Hindujas’ net worth is currently around £37.196 billion. In 2024 alone, it rose by £2.196 billion.
Hindujas are followed by businessman Leonard Blavatnik and David and Simon Reuben and family on the list. They had a net worth of £29.24 billion and £24.97 billion respectively.
The list saw a fall in the number of billionaires for the second year running from 171 to 165. The number of billionaires peaked at 177 in 2022.
Across many sectors
Hindujas’ family-run companies operate in 48 countries and across several sectors such as automotive, oil and speciality chemicals, banking and finance, IT, cyber security, healthcare, trading, infrastructure project development, media and entertainment, power, and real estate.
Over the past year, the family’s wealth increased considerably and hit GBP 37.196 billion with the launch of their luxury OWO Hotel in the heart of London. Gopichand Hinduja, known as Gopi, currently heads the family business following the death of his elder brother, Srichand Hinduja, in May 2023. He is one of five brothers who inherited their family business from founder Parmanand Hinduja. The legacy continues through Gopi, Prakash, and Ashok, following the death of their brothers Girdhar and Srichand.
Strategic acquisitions
The Hinduja brothers initially expanded their father’s textile and trading business in Bombay and Tehran before transforming it into a global powerhouse. Their strategic acquisitions included Ashok Leyland and Gulf Oil in the early years, and later, establishing banks in Switzerland and India. The Hinduja family owns several prestigious properties in London, including the Raffles London hotel, housed in the historic Old War Office building in Whitehall. Another jewel in their realty crown is their private residence on Carlton House Terrace, a sprawling 67,000-square-foot mansion worth up to £400 million.
‘OWO my greatest legacy to London’
LONDON: After topping the UK ‘Rich List’ last year, Gopichand Hinduja gave an interview to The Times wherein he said, “The OWO is my greatest legacy to London for future generations to enjoy,” At the time of the interview, he was seated in what was the Old War Office (OWO) where Winston Churchill sat before becoming UK’s Prime Minister.
Not only was The OWO the Hinduja Group’s first foray into hospitality business, it is also the first Raffles Hotel and the first Guerlain Spa in London.
The Hindujas bought the OWO at Whitehall for a whopping £1.2 billion in 2014. Known for its classic Edwardian baroque interiors, the OWO has since been renovated in keeping with the rich legacy and the historical architectural elements of the building, for another £1.2 billion.
