Rich List 2017 Billionaires
1 £ 16.2bn £ 3.2bn ▲
SRI AND GOPI HINDUJA
Industry and fi nanceW
here Sir Winston Churchill once plotted
Hitl er’s downfall , the world’s super-rich
will soon have a place to mingle and
unwind. The Old War Offi ce in London
is to be converted into a fi ve-star hotel,
with a ballroom for 600 guests, an 82ft swimming
pool, a spa and two wine cellars. A rooftop bar will
allow guests to take in the same view enjoyed by
James Bond, as played by Daniel Craig in the closing
scene of Skyfall. The vast Edwardian building will
house 88 apartments, each with up to fi ve bedrooms.
The £350m development, granted planning
permission this year , is the latest by the Hinduja
brothers , Sri and Gopi , who lead their dynasty — and
the 2017 Sunday Times Rich List. Srichand , 81 , and
Gopichand , 77 , topped our list for the fi rst time in
2014 , when their fortune stood at £11.9bn. The
brothers have kept a low profi le since a political
scandal in the Blair years , but Gopi spoke last year of
how Brexit could be favourable for the UK and India.
“There will be a greater focus on India and the
emerging markets — and among the emerging
markets, India will be the favourites ,” he said.
The Hindujas’ business empire was founded by
their father, Parmanand, in Mumbai in 1914. Five
years later he set up an offi ce trading in carpets , tea
and spices in Iran, where the Hinduja Group
developed a merchant-banking operation. When the
Islamic revolution swept through Iran in 1979 the
brothers moved to London. Their siblings Prakash ,
71 , and Ashok , 66 , are based in Geneva and Mumbai
respectively. The brothers often speak several times
a day — Gopi ha s said his annual phone bills once
peaked at nearly £100,000.
Parmanand died in 1971 , but his tenets guide the
company, including his insistence they “advance
fearlessly”. He advised his sons to spread their
business across countries and sectors : today the
group, chaired by Sri , employs more than 70,000
people , with investments spanning oil and gas , IT ,
energy , media , banking , property and healthcare.
The Hinduja Group acquired one of its largest
enterprises , Gulf Oil, in 198 4, and the value of its
investment in the company has increased by £870m
in the past year. In 1987 it acquired the ailing Ashok
Leyland , now India’s second biggest commercial
vehicle manufacturer, worth more than £2bn — with
the Hindujas’ stake exceeding £1bn. Indusind Bank,
which the brothers founded, is valued on the stock
market at nearly £10bn and the family’s holding has
risen by £1. 18bn over the past year. In Britain their
main company, Hinduja Automotive , chaired by
Gopi , turned over more than £2bn in 2015-16 and
showed £237.8m net assets. The Hindujas have
recently bought British assets including Careline , an
outsourcing business , and the bus ma nufacturer
Optare. Their six-storey mansion, a sapphire’s throw
from Buckingham Palace, adds £300m.
Gopi said recently: “If you consider one to be rich
only because of his money, you are wrong. I consider
someone to be rich if he has good friends, good
contacts, good relationships.”
2016: £13bn, 2NUMBER
ONE
The Sunday Times Magazine • The Sunday Times Magazine • 2121FAMILY VALUES
The brothers Sri,
left, and Gopi
Hinduja live in a
£300m mansion
overlooking
St James’s ParkREX