Hinduja Brothers Slip to Second Spot in UK’s Rich List

By Little India Desk | May 15, 2018

The Hinduja brothers were displaced by chemicals entrepreneur Jim Ratcliffe as the wealthiest person in the United Kingdom in the Sunday Times Rich List 2018. The list features 47 Indian-origin personalities.

Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja have an estimated fortune of around £20.64 billion as compared to Ratcliffe’s £21.05 billion. The list ranks the top 1,000 wealthiest people in the United Kingdom.

“Britain is changing. Gone are the days when old money and a small band of industries dominated the ‘Sunday Times Rich List’. Aristocrats and inherited wealth has been elbowed out of the list and replaced by an army of self-made entrepreneurs,” Robert Watts, who compiled the list, said, according to the Press Trust of India.

The Hinduja brothers’ fortune increased by £4.44 billion in the last year, according to the list. Gopichand, 78, and Srichand, 82, are based in London while their brothers Prakash, 72, and Ashok, 67, are based in Geneva and Mumbai, respectively.

“The biggest successes over the past year have been their Indian automotive manufacturer Ashok Leyland and the Mumbai-based IndusInd Bank, the share prices of which have respectively risen by 49 per cent and 27 per cent,” the report added.

Lakshmi Mittal and family came in fifth, with £14.667 billion. The Mittal family was the fourth richest in the Sunday Times Rich List last year.

Among the other Indian-origin businessmen on this year’s list is Sri Prakash Lohia, the owner of Singapore-headquartered Indorama group, who ranks 25th, with an estimated £5.15 billion fortune. India-born healthcare and foreign exchange magnate Bavaguthu Shetty entered the list for the first time at rank 59 with a net worth of £2.38 billion. He is followed by the Arora brothers, Simon, Bobby and Robin, who own the  B&M retain chain, and have an estimated net worth of £2.3 billion.

Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw was ranked at No. 75 with her Scottish husband, John, with £1.75 billion, while Lord Swraj Paul and family came in at No. 90 with a fortune of £1.5 billion.

“Mr Paul’s business interests are thriving again. Profits at Bull Moose Industries more than doubled to nearly £48 million on sales of £370.4 million in 2016 after an earlier decline in the steel industry pushed his main UK operation into administration,” the list said.

Also included in the ranking are Navin and Varsha Engineer, the  owners of pharmaceutical company Chemidex, with a fortune of £1.14 billion at No. 96; and property tycoons Raj, Tony and Harpal Matharu who came in at No. 105 with a fortune of £1.3 billion. Hotelier Jasminder Singh and family, with a fortune of £1.06 billion, figured at No. 131 on the list.

“Chicken king” Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan (£746 million) were ranked at No. 183, followed by Waymade Plc founders Bhikhu and Vijay Patel, with £687 million at No. 204. Mike, George, Vin, and Danny Jatania came in at No. 215 with £630 million.

“We measure identifiable wealth, whether land, property, racehorses, art or significant shares in publicly quoted companies. We exclude bank accounts—to which we have no access… We try to give due consideration to liabilities,” the list said.