View source for Gopichand Hinduja

{{Short description|Indian businessman (1940–2025)}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = GP Hinduja at Asian Awards.jpg
| image_size         = 
| name               = Gopichand Hinduja
| caption            = Hinduja in 2019
| birth_name         = Gopichand Parmanand Hinduja
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1940|02|29|df=y}}
| birth_place        = Iran
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2025|11|04|1940|02|29|df=y}}
| death_place        = London, England
| education          = 
| alma mater         = [[Jai Hind College]]
| known_for          = Co-Chairman, [[Hinduja Group]]
| spouse             = Sunita Hinduja
| father             = [[Parmanand Hinduja|Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja]]
| children           = 3, including [[Dheeraj Hinduja]]
| relatives          = [[S. P. Hinduja]] (brother)<br/>[[Prakash Hinduja]] (brother)
| website            = 
}}

'''Gopichand Parmanand Hinduja''' (29 February 1940 – 4 November 2025) was an Indian-British billionaire businessman controlling the Indian conglomerate [[Hinduja Group]]. For many years he was co-chairman with his brother [[S. P. Hinduja|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.

==Early life==
Gopichand Parmanand Hinduja was born on 29 February 1940, in Iran,<ref>{{cite news |date=4 November 2025 |title=Telegraph Obituaries |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2025/11/04/gopichand-hinduja-india-billionaire-brothers-war-office/ |work=[[Telegraph.co.uk]] |location=[[United Kingdom]] |publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group]] |archive-date=4 November 2025 |access-date=6 November 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20251104133208/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2025/11/04/gopichand-hinduja-india-billionaire-brothers-war-office/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> the son of [[Parmanand Hinduja]], and educated at [[Jai Hind College]], Bombay.<ref name="Publications2003">{{cite book |author=[[Europa Publications]] |title=The International Who's Who 2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sR4Ch1dMe8IC&pg=PA733 |access-date=22 May 2016 |year=2003 |publisher=[[Psychology Press]] |isbn=978-1-85743-217-6 |page=733}}</ref>

==Business career==
The Hinduja brothers began their careers in their father's textile and trading businesses in [[Bombay]], India, and [[Tehran]], Iran.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pranaygupte.com/article.php?index=590 |title=The world is their bazaar |work=[[Forbes]]|author=[[Pranay Gupte]] |date=28 December 1987 |access-date=21 August 2012 |archive-date=19 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119120351/http://www.pranaygupte.com/article.php?index=590 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> Successful early businesses included the sale of food commodities (onions and potatoes) and iron ore from India to Iran.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EuACvEhzim4C&q=Hinduja+iron+ore+Indira+Gandhi&pg=PA34 |title=The New Maharajahs: The Commercial Princes of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh |access-date=21 August 2012 |isbn=9780712677615 |year=1996 |last=Cragg |first=Claudia |publisher=[[Random House#International branches|Century Ltd]]}}</ref>

With the acquisition of [[Ashok Leyland]] (from [[British Leyland]]) and [[Gulf Oil]] (from [[Chevron Corporation]]) 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 family|Tata]], [[Birla family|Birla]], and [[Ambani (disambiguation)|Ambani]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Reghu Balakrishnan|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/hinduja-to-launch-500-mn-infra-fund-112041800093_1.html |title=Hinduja to launch $500-mn infra fund |newspaper=[[Business Standard]] |location=[[Mumbai]]|date=18 April 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a0472464-28e2-11e2-b92c-00144feabdc0 |title=Hindujas' Gulf Oil agrees $1bn US deal |date=7 November 2012 |work=[[Financial Times]] |author=[[James Crabtree]]}}</ref>

==Wealth==
As of May 2024, he was estimated to be the UK's richest person.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Sunday Times Rich List 2024 revealed |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/sunday-times-rich-list-2024-revealed-plt3t2xrt |newspaper=The Times |language=en |date=17 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Rich List puts Bamford in Top 20 |url=https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/rich-list-puts-bamford-in-top-20 |work=Construction Index |date=17 May 2024 |language=en-gb}}</ref> Since the 1990s, he had been consistently ranked among the UK and Asia's wealthiest people.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/srichand-gopichand-hinduja |title=Srichand & Gopichand Hinduja |work=Forbes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307023920/http://www.forbes.com/profile/srichand-gopichand-hinduja |archive-date=7 March 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2013, a rich list compiled by Asian Media & Marketing Group, estimated Hinduja's wealth at GBP 19 billion ($24.7 billion).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/dc025004-930a-11e2-9593-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3dbdEP6mh |url-access=subscription |title=Mittal loses top spot in rich list |date=22 March 2013 |newspaper=Financial Times |first=Andrew |last=Bounds}}</ref>

In May 2017, Hinduja topped the [[Sunday Times Rich List 2017|''Sunday Times'' Rich List]] with an estimated wealth of GBP 16.2 billion ($21 billion).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/article/the-sunday-times-rich-list-2017-boom-time-for-billionaires-pzbkrfbv2 |title=The Sunday Times Rich List 2017: Boom time for billionaires |newspaper=The Times |date=7 May 2017 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In May 2019 The Hinduja brothers, Gopichand and [[S. P. Hinduja|Srichand]], were once again named by ''The Times'' UK as the UK's wealthiest people, according to the annual ''[[Sunday Times Rich List]]'' survey.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/may/11/hindujas-sunday-times-annual-rich-list-top-spot |title=Hinduja brothers take back top spot in annual Rich List |last=Connett |first=David |date=11 May 2019 |work=The Guardian |access-date=12 May 2019 |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref>

Hinduja remained the wealthiest again in 2025,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Sunday Times Rich List 2025 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/feature/article/richest-people-uk-2025-revealed-vnkmnlxgz |newspaper=The Times |url-access=subscription}}</ref> with his estimated wealth at £35.3 billion following a peak of £37.2 billion in 2024.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/profile/article/gopi-hinduja-and-family-net-worth-sunday-times-rich-list-5m5r8xfgh |title=Gopi Hinduja and family net worth — Sunday Times Rich List 2025 |date=16 May 2025 |newspaper=The Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250720155419/https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/profile/article/gopi-hinduja-and-family-net-worth-sunday-times-rich-list-5m5r8xfgh |archive-date=20 July 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Gopichand Hinduja was married to Sunita, and they had two sons and one daughter, Sanjay Hinduja, [[Dheeraj Hinduja]] and Rita Hinduja.<ref name="Publications2003" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hindujagroup.com/family-tree.html |title=Hinduja Brothers Family Tree |website=Hinduja Group}}</ref> The Hinduja family is of Hindu [[Sindhis|Sindhi]] heritage.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/341601/most-billionaires-in-india-today-once-resided-in-pakistans-sindh/ |title=Most billionaires in India today once resided in Pakistan's Sindh |work=Daily Times |first=Waseem |last=Palijo |date=8 January 2019}}</ref> Gopichand and his three brothers are [[teetotalism|teetotal]] and vegetarian.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lamb |first1=Christina |author-link1=Christina Lamb |last2=West |first2=Julian |title=The teetotal Hinduja brothers, who partied their way to power |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=28 January 2001 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1319931/The-teetotal-Hinduja-brothers-who-partied-their-way-to-power.html |access-date=6 September 2024 |url-access=registration |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209234601/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1319931/The-teetotal-Hinduja-brothers-who-partied-their-way-to-power.html |archive-date=9 February 2016}}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/11411381/Indias-most-eligible-bachelor-Sanjay-Hinduja-marries-in-15m-ceremony.html |title='India's most eligible bachelor' Sanjay Hinduja marries in £15m ceremony |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=13 February 2015 |access-date=11 June 2016}}</ref>

===Citizenship===
Gopichand obtained British citizenship in 1997.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mandelson resigns over passport deception |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2001/feb/01/guardianweekly.guardianweekly1 |access-date=24 May 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> In 2001, Hinduja was involved in the UK's [[Hinduja Group#2001 Hinduja affair|cash-for-passports scandal]], where he donated money for the [[Millennium Dome]] while applying for British citizenship, leading to the resignation of [[Peter Mandelson]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Hindujas' British passports affair |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2001/feb/25hindu.htm |website=[[rediff.com]] |date=25 February 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Hugo |first2=Jonathan |last2=Browning |title=Billionaire Family Feud Puts a Century-Old Business Empire in Jeopardy |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-11-24/billionaire-family-feud-puts-a-century-old-business-empire-in-jeopardy |work=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=23 November 2021}}</ref>

===Later life and death===
The Hinduja family made headlines in 2021 for a feud that reached a London courtroom. Srichand Hinduja's daughters Vinoo and Shanu accused their three uncles of cutting them out of funding and decision-making. At the time, [[Srichand Hinduja|Srichand]] (Gopichand's elder brother) was suffering from [[dementia]], and soon died in 2023.

Hinduja died at a hospital in London, on 4 November 2025, at the age of 85.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 November 2025 |access-date=4 November 2025 |newspaper=The Times of India |title=Hinduja Group Chairman Gopichand P Hinduja, 85 years old, passes away in London |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/hinduja-group-chairman-gopichand-p-hinduja-85-years-old-passes-away-in-london/articleshow/125084750.cms}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name| 13451457}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinduja, Gopichand}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:2025 deaths]]
[[Category:British billionaires]]
[[Category:British businesspeople of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Hinduja family|Gopichand]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British people of Sindhi descent]]
[[Category:21st-century British businesspeople]]
[[Category:English people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Sindhi Hindus]]
[[Category:Sindhi businesspeople]]
[[Category:Sindhi people]]