Gopichand Hinduja, known for building a vast global business empire alongside his three brothers, has passed away at the age of 85. He was recognized as the richest man in the UK.

As the head of the Hinduja family, Gopichand oversaw the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, which amassed a fortune of £35.3 billion in 2024. This immense wealth marked the highest ever recorded by the Sunday Times Rich List.

Nicknamed ‘GP’, Gopichand succumbed yesterday after a prolonged illness.

His family released a statement expressing their grief: “He was humble, joyful, and a friend to everyone he met. His absence will create a significant void in our family. His remarkable contributions will be long remembered.”

Gopichand shared the leadership of the family enterprise with his elder brother Srichand, who passed away at 87 in 2023.

The pair moved to London in the 1970s, where they built Hinduja Group – which began in 1914 as a modest operation trading carpets, tea and spices – into a global leviathan spanning banking and healthcare to real estate, oil and entertainment. 

The pair’s younger brother Prakash moved to Geneva to run the family’s fund management operation, while Ashok stayed in Mumbai to look after the Indian interests of Hinduja Group, which employs around 200,000 people worldwide. 

It is not known who will now take over the leadership of the conglomerate, although the youngest brother Ashok runs its operations across India, including truck maker Ashok Leyland.

Gopichand Hinduja, the UK’s richest man, died on Tuesday following a long illness 

Mr Hinduja with King Charles – when he was Prince of Wales – at a 2019 charity event in London 

Like his brothers, Gopichand was a teetotal vegetarian. He married his wife Sunita Gurnani in 1963 and they had two sons, Sanjay and Dheeraj, and a daughter, Rita.

Unusually, Gopichand and his family cohabited with the family of his brother, Srichand, with the couples sharing the upbringing of their children. 

Home was a 67,000-sq-ft, 25-bedroom apartment block in London’s Carlton House Terrace, close to Hinduja Group’s HQ in Haymarket. 

While the two brothers were known for shunning publicity, Gopichand was considered the more outgoing of the pair and would regularly put himself forward as the family spokesman. 

However, the sense of family harmony was shattered in 2015 when Srichand claimed sole ownership of the Switzerland-based Hinduja Bank.

In the process, he asked a court to set aside an earlier agreement that assets held in one brother’s name belonged to all four.

This move kicked off a blizzard of litigation over control of various Hinduja companies worth billions of pounds between them.

During the drawn-out legal battle, Srichand developed dementia and a High Court judge voiced concern that the family had failed to arrange adequate care for him.

But in November 2022, six months before his death, a spokesman for Gopichand said that ‘the family matter regarding the health and welfare of Srichand has already been resolved amicably between all parties.’

Gopichand was also caught up in controversy in 2001 as part of the Hinduja Affair, which led to Lord Peter Mandelson quitting as an MP.

The ‘cash for passports’ scandal had related to Gopichand writing to Mr Mandelson about obtaining a UK passport for brother Prakash after the Hinduja Foundation – the group’s charitable arm – donated £1million to the Millennium Dome.

Mr Mandelson resigned as a result, but was later cleared of wrongdoing after an inquiry.

Like his brothers, Gopichand was a teetotal vegetarian. He married his wife Sunita Gurnani in 1963 and they had two sons, Sanjay and Dheeraj, and a daughter, Rita 

Gopichand with Princess Anne at the official opening of Raffles at OWO (The Old War Office) on Whitehall in 2023. He called the project his ‘greatest legacy to London’ 

The Hinduja family’s reputation was tested last year when four of its members, including Gopichand’s brother Prakash, were convicted in Geneva of exploiting their servants.

They were accused of seizing workers’ passports, paying them in rupees – not Swiss francs – barring them from leaving the villa and forcing them to work long hours for a pittance in Switzerland, among other things.

The conviction is being appealed. In Switzerland, a judgment is not considered final until all avenues of appeal have been exhausted.

The Hindujas own significant real estate in London, including a number of large homes near to St James’s Park and Winston Churchill’s Old War Office in Whitehall, which has recently been refurbished to include a hotel.

Gopichand was particularly proud of the £1.4billion project and declared it his ‘greatest legacy to London’.

Guests can now stay at Sir Winston Churchill’s former office for between £18,000 and £25,000 a night. 

The family are also known for their commitment to philanthropy, including donations to the V&A museum and Great Ormond Street children’s hospital, as well as a series of scholarships at Cambridge. 

Gopichand is survived by his wife and three children.