The Hindujas, with their roots in India, topped the UK ‘Rich List’ for the fifth year, becoming the wealthiest family in the island nation. The Times Rich List 2023 was followed by an interview with the “eldest working member of the Indian family which tops the rich list for the 5th time this year at £35 billion”. And the introduction ran thus: “Richest rich listeners like to make an entrance but none does it quite like GP Hinduja.”
At the time of The Times interview, the 83-yearold Gopichand Hinduja was seated in what was the Old War Office (OWO) where Winston Churchill sat before becoming UK’s Prime Minister. According to the current owner of the building it would soon be open – as the number one hotel in the world – repurposed into the Raffles London.
Maiden hospitality foray
“The OWO is my greatest legacy to London for future generations to enjoy,” says Gopichand Hinduja. Not only is 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 Co-chairman of the Hinduja Group is said to be humming mera joota hai Japani…, the popular lines from a famous 1955 film of Raj Kapoor. It goes thus: “My shoes are from Japan, the trousers from England, the red cap is Russian, and yet at heart I am an Indian”.
Theirs’ is an Indian family restoring British history; a family joining the Ganga to the Thames.
Buying heritage properties
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.
The brothers – Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash, and Ashok – have been acquiring historic and heritage properties in London. In 2006, they stunned the world with their acquisition of 13-16 Carlton House Terrace. A heritage structure, it was built in 1831, and is spread over 67,000 square feet in the City of Westminster, neighbouring Buckingham Palace. The family bought the property for £58 million from the Crown Estate and spent another £50 million in renovations before they could call it home in 2011.
World-shaping events
And the OWO is a Grade II listed building, which has witnessed innumerable world-shaping events – its 1,100 rooms and four kilometre of corridors, were used by Winston Churchill during World War II, leading Britain to wartime victory; Bond movie lovers will remember snapshots of this location in ‘Skyfall’, ‘Spectre’, ‘License to Kill’, ‘A View to a Kill’, ‘Octopussy’ and ‘No Time To Die’.
In its new avatar, the 120 rooms and suites – including a Winston Churchill Suite – have been designed by French architect and interior designer, Thierry Despont, known for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty in New York as an associate architect in the eighties and transforming landmark buildings like The Getty Centre and Maison Cartier.
Most expensive residencies
The 85 branded residences, a first for Raffles in Europe, complete with a heady mix of history, mystery and royal glamour, makes them the most expensive in London. They are priced upwards of £7.1million for a two-bedroom residence, £10million for a two-bedroom residence designed by Albion Nord and £14.25million for a three-bedroom residence designed by Angel O’Donnell. Both are prominent London-based interior design studios. British architect William Young designed the building originally and the project was completed in 1906.
“I travelled all around the world looking for a home but when I finally came to London, I decided this is the best city in the world to live in,” adds Gopichand Hinduja.
Loss of the patriarch
Unfortunately, Britain’s richest family lost its patriarch, Srichand Parmanand Hinduja, who could not make it to see the latest ‘Times Rich List 2023’.
The Chairman of the Hinduja Group passed away in London on May 17. He was 87. He was reportedly battling dementia and was under nursing care for some time.
“His loss has left a huge void as the brothers have always been four bodies and one soul,” said a statement from the family following SP’s demise. And the legacy continues!
‘Everything belongs to everyone, and nothing belongs to anyone’
LONDON: The brothers – Srichand, Gopichand, Prakash, and Ashok – sincerely nurtured a seed of bonding sown by their father Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja. It was a maxim they were handed down: “everything belongs to everyone, and nothing belongs to anyone”. Thus, any asset held by any one brother belonged to all four of them. Parmanand was a self-made young entrepreneur from Shikarpur in Sindh, then part of undivided India. In 1914, he travelled to Bombay (now Mumbai) where he quickly learnt the ropes of business.
International arena
He first entered the international arena with an office in Iran in 1919. The twin pillars of his business were merchant banking and trade. The Group remained headquartered in Iran till 1979. It then moved to Europe. What started with trading in textiles, dried fruits, tea and spices between India and Iran a century ago has evolved into a behemoth of industry and finance across the world, including India.
The Hinduja Group went on to strengthen its businesses with diversifications in the fields of automotive, IT, media, entertainment and communications, infrastructure, oil and chemicals, power, real estate, and healthcare. It includes the commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland and private banking too; and F1. Today, the Group employs about 200,000 people across 38 countries.
Through the vicissitudes of time and tide the brothers have stoically stood together. And the story is likely to continue. Yet, the loss of the eldest – and the face – of the brothers will weigh down the family for some time long
