SP Hinduja, billionaire head of Britain’s richest family, dies at 87 | Business

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SP Hinduja, the billionaire patriarch of Britain’s richest family and chairman of the global conglomerate Hinduja Group, has died in London at the age of 87, his family has confirmed.

Srichand P Hinduja, known as SP or Sri, reportedly had dementia.

On Wednesday, a family spokesperson said: “Gopichand, Prakash, Ashok and the entire Hinduja family are with a heavy heart to announce the passing. […] of Mr. SP Hinduja today”.

The Hindu family topped the 2022 Sunday Times Rich Listafter their collective fortune rose by more than £11bn to £28.4bn, the list’s largest recorded fortune in over three decades.

Despite the family’s great wealth, a judge warned last year that Sri Hinduja’s needs, primarily medical care for Lewy body dementia, had been “marginalized” amid a family dispute over property. from a Swiss bank.

Until his death, Sri led the family dynasty, which employs 150,000 people, with his brother Gopi. The brothers began their careers in India but he has spent most of his time in the UK since the 1970s.

The duo built the Hinduja Group from a relatively small family business to a company with operations in 38 countries, spanning sectors including the auto industry, oil, banking, media and healthcare.

The empire expanded through landmark deals, including the 1987 purchase of the Ashok Leyland group, which included the remnants of the defunct British car company British Leyland. Three years earlier, the group had bought Gulf Oil from the US oil company Chevron.

Its UK property assets include the 67,000-square-foot 18th-century Carlton House Terrace near Buckingham Palace and the historic Old War Office building in Whitehall.

The brothers’ late father, Parmanand, began trading carpets, tea and spices in 1914, in a part of what was then British India but is now in Pakistan. He later took the business to Iran.

The family’s recent feud revolved around their maxim “everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to no one” and the resulting premise, stated in a letter, that whatever property belonged to one brother also belonged to the other three.

In 2015, Sri sued his brothers in the high court, saying the letter had “no legal effect” and claiming sole ownership of Hinduja Bank in Switzerland. Last year, when his condition worsened, the family said they had reached an agreement to end the dispute.

Last year, the Hindujas were accused of “playing Scrooge” after allegations that they refused to pay all UK workers the “real living wage” while their own personal wealth soared.

The Hindus were allowed to avoid planning rules that should have required them to build 98 affordable apartments for key workers and low-income workers in their £1.2bn luxury Old War Office development.