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2024
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Ramniklal Solanki CBE
1931-2020
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Kalpesh R Solanki
Executive Editor
Shailesh R Solanki
Digital Manager
Aditya Solanki
Contributors
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Contents
8 One for all
10 Steely smart
44 Making history
96 Pharma niche
85 New kids on the block
12
Highest risers
32 Master of
acquisitions
15 Tea
connoisseur
In association with
Britain’s
101
Wealthiest Asians
2024
2024 | Eastern Eye Asian Rich List
Asian Rich List
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Anuj Chhabra
A testament to resilience
WELCOME to the 13th Asian Rich List under the
auspices of Asian Media Group.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the now
more than 18-month-long war in Ukraine, and the
cost of living crisis have all had a huge impact on the
global economy in one way or another.
Amidst rising inflation and rocketing energy pric-
es at home, the British economy has either stagnat-
ed or has still not reached the potential we would all
hope for.
Whatever view you take, it is impossible to deny
that British Asian entrepreneurs continue to chal-
lenge, innovate, and succeed. This Asian Rich List is
a testament to their skills.
The Brown pound, especially at the top end, con-
tinues to be resilient, and many have continued to
add to the overall wellbeing of our nation – and not
just solely in money terms. Many have turned the
corner from the pandemic and the restrictions it im-
posed.
We look at wealth in the round, and while some
are understandably reluctant to talk num-
bers and figures and commercial success,
there are many who put their funds to
good causes and stress their giving as
part of a deeply-embedded philoso-
phy of gratitude and respect for those
trying to make the world a better and
safer place for all.
There are, here then, stirring stories
of success - against the odds - of humble
beginnings and creating enterprises that are
global and world-beating and synonymous now
with British entrepreneurial flair - global Britain at
its very best, if you will.
There are 101 such stories here, each one a hero
in some way. And for the most part, many remain
self-made, and are either first-generation immi-
grants to this land or second-generation British-
born, and are dynamic and energetic in the pursuit
of stability for themselves, their families, and their
communities.
Many are also from family businesses, which
have become professionalised and com-
mand widespread sectoral, national, and
international recognition.
Our politicians can easily miss the
benefits of economic migrants – doc-
tors, carers, and tech specialists, to
name just a few – who help to keep
the economic wheels of our country
moving and often bring ideas and in-
ventions to these shores.
Imagine for a moment that there is no
Asian community to speak of – that the doomsayers
and sceptics had actually won their argument in the
1960s or 1970s - and the economic, social, and cul-
tural landscape would look totally different.
There would be no Prime Minister Rishi Sunak,
for example, or David Lammy, Shadow Foreign Sec-
retary.
It’s highly doubtful that Indian cuisine would
have such a global stature or that the pharma indus-
try would be such a beacon for talent and prosperity.
Almost every entrepreneur here, because of their
ethnicity, has faced some sort of hurdle or struggle –
racism isn’t something that has disappeared with
economic success. It returns in different guises,
sometimes in the language of culture or social cohe-
sion, and we must remain vigilant and call it out
where we see it, for it seeks to make us all poorer
economically and culturally.
Compiling the Asian Rich List is a mammoth task
in itself and is rooted in detailed knowledge and un-
derstanding of the Asian business environment in
Britain for more than five decades. Many here do not
speak to other publications; they continue to share
their insights and stories with us. It is an incredible
honour and privilege, and one we never take for
granted.
A huge team, as always, has been involved in put-
ting this publication together ,and it is always a thrill
to unveil it at the glamorous Asian Business Awards
in what is to be its 25th anniversary edition this year.
We present the Asian Rich List as a chronicle of
success, a clarion call to budding entrepreneurs eve-
rywhere, and a salute to the sheer enterprise and
endeavour found in British South Asian communi-
ties.
We hope you enjoy the Asian Rich List and feel
suitably inspired. We know we both do.
Kalpesh R Solanki and Shailesh R Solanki
SHAILESH SOLANKI has over 30
years’ experience in consumer and
business journalism. An econom-
ics graduate, he is the executive
editor of the Asian Media Group,
overlooking the editorial function
of the group’s titles, Eastern Eye,
Garavi Gujarat newsweekly, Asian
Trader, Pharmacy Business, Asian
Hospitality, and GG2 Power List.
Shailesh is also responsible for the
group’s US publishing business,
based in Atlanta, Georgia.
SUNEEL GUPTA is a chartered ac-
countant with more than 20 years’
experience of working with inter-
nationally listed, private-equity-
backed, and owner-managed
businesses in the UK and India.
Suneel has considerable experi-
ence advising businesses within
the Asian community. He has pre-
viously spent a number of years
working for a ‘big 4’ accountancy
firm and is currently a partner
with a leading mid-tier firm.
SAQUIB MEHERALLI has more
than 20 years’ experience working
with a broad spectrum of business-
es in the UK, in particular interna-
tional businesses across the United
States, Europe, and Asia. A char-
tered accountant, he is a senior
manager at Evelyn Partners LLP, a
top 10 accountancy firm, overlook-
ing the compliance and advisory
sides of business. He currently ad-
vises owner-managed and high-
net-worth businesses.
AMIT ROY collaborated with
Philip Beresford to compile the
first Asian Rich List in 1990. As a
foreign correspondent for The
Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail,
the Sunday Times and the Sunday
Telegraph, he has covered wars,
including the Falklands conflict,
all over the world. He has written
economic supplements on India
for the Daily Telegraph, and is a
columnist and editor-at-large at
Eastern Eye.
The Asian Rich List panel of experts
Eastern Eye’s Asian Rich List was extensively researched, and the final evaluations were considered
by a distinguished panel of experts from the world of finance and business journalism...
2024 | Eastern Eye Asian Rich List
Asian Rich List
Ramaniklal
Solanki CBE
By AMIT ROY
THE combined wealth of the 101 richest Asians
in the UK in 2023 comes to over £120 billion.
The exact figure is £120,050,000,000, up from
£113,176,000,000 in 2022, an increase of £6.874
billion – a relatively modest increase of 6.1 per
cent but quite creditable considering the coun-
try has been through a pandemic, energy
shortages and the effects of the Ukraine war.
Eastern Eye’s Asian Rich List: Britain’s 101
Wealthiest Asians 2024 needs putting into
some sort of context. Anyone with £25m was
eligible to get on to the list 13 years ago. Last
year the entry point was £120m. This year that
figure has climbed to £125mn. Even allowing
for inflation, it is clear that British Asian busi-
nesses are a crucial part of the UK economy.
Most people on the Asian Rich List have set
up charitable foundations or contribute gener-
ously to a range of worthy causes from temples
to hospitals and schools.
Last year there were 16 billionaires on the
list. That figure remains the same, although
three entries are not that far away. Among
them are Dr Kartar and Tej Lalvani (17th with
£950m), who own the vitamins company, Vita-
biotics, and “spend heavily on advertising to
retain brand loyalty”. Ranjit and Baljinder
Boparan (19th with £920,000m), who have
struggled with rising costs in their poultry sup-
ply chain, are also just outside the billionaire
category.
It is disappointing that there only 8 women
on the list, 7 of them included as part of a hus-
band and wife team. Most business families re-
main very traditional and conservative but so-
cial change is underway. Young women are en-
tering family businesses and playing an in-
creasingly important role.
One of the biggest rises has been registered
by Sri Prakash Lohia, chairman of Indorama,
the chemical company. His net wealth has ris-
en to £10.1bn from £8.8bn last year, an increase
of £1.3bn – 14.7 per cent. As a manufacturer of
fertilisers, he has benefited from the rise in the
price of urea, an essential ingredient.
He comes in third behind his brother-in-law,
steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, and his nephew
Aditya Mittal – executive chairman and CEO of
ArcelorMittal respectively – who are in second
place with £12.9bn. That is a rise of £100m –
0.78 per cent – from £12.8bn last year. Mittal
senior’s younger sister, Seema, entered into an
arranged marriage with Lohia as they are both
from the Marwari community hailing from Ra-
jasthan.
The top place, as has been the case for sev-
eral years now, goes to the Hinduja family, now
headed by London-based Gopi Hinduja, 83, in
the absence of the eldest brother Srichand,
who died, aged 87, in May this year. The Hin-
dujas’ wealth comes in at
£33.5bn, an increase of
£3bn over £30.5 bn (9.8 per
cent) in 2022.
The 2022 total valuation
was a rise of nearly 15 per
cent over £98,597,000,000 in
2021. The 2021 figure was a
20 per cent increase from
the £82,098,000,000 valua-
tion in 2020. The figures
were £85,243,000,000 in 2019 and
£80,255,000,000 in 2018.
There is no dramatic change in the sectors
that survived the pandemic and continue to do
well – cash & carry, healthcare, pharma, care
homes and textiles.
One couple who have gone into the educa-
tion sector are Selva Pankaj and his wife
Tharshiny (a new entry at 79 with £180m),
who came to the UK to escape the civil
war in their native Sri Lanka. They
run the Regent Group, which offers
higher educational programmes in
a wide range of areas from real es-
tate management to investment.
They have also launched the Regent
Independent College, a private co-
educational school , plus the Regent
Nursery and Regent Learning Centre.
The hotel sector seems to be re-
bounding. The Hindujas, for
example, have invested
£.3bn in transforming the
historic but dull Old War
Office into the superluxury OWO Raffles hotel
in Whitehall. The hotel was opened by Princess
Anne. Jasminder Singh (ranked 10th with
£1.6bn) and Surinder Arora (15th with £1.2bn)
have also attracted favourable customer reac-
tions to The Londoner and the Fairmont Wind-
sor Park hotels respectively. Harpal and Raj
Matharu are ranked 21st with £750m, while the
third brother, Tony Matharu, gets in at No 23
with £745m. They would probably be in the bil-
lionaire category if they had
run their hotels as a united
family.
Another emerging trend
is in the finance sector. More
Asian entrepreneurs are en-
tering the banking arena.
The Hindujas have In-
dusInd, whose sponsorship
of the cricket world cup in
India has been viewed by
tens of millions of spectators. The Bestway
Group, led by the much respected Sir Anwar
Pervez (8th with £2.5bn) as chairman, Lord Za-
meer Choudrey (14th with £1.3bn) as CEO and
Younus Sheikh (34th with £540m) as director,
have the United Bank Ltd in Pakistan.
Rishi Khosla’s (22nd with £750m) Oaknorth
has proved to be a disrupter bank in a tradi-
tional space. Pradip and Manish Dhamecha
(18th with £925m) bought the UK subsidi-
ary of the Bank of Cyprus and rebranded
it as the Cynergy Bank. Balbinder Singh
Sohal (56th with £300m) is a new en-
try on the strength of his shareholding
in Cynergy Bank. Sanjeev Kanoria, a
surgeon, and his wife, Sangita (62nd
with £250m), who have care homes in
the UK, brought Austria’s Hypo Alpe
Adria a decade ago and re-
named it the Austrian
Anadi Bank.
The Ismaili
community is
represented by
Leading Britain’s revival
British Asian businesses are crucial to the UK economy
Eastern Eye Asian Rich List | 2024
Asian Rich List
The second
generation is
taking over
NEW ENTRANTS: Dr
Selva (right), and Mrs
Tharshiny Pankaj
BIG WINNER: Sri
Prakash Lohia’s
Indorama has seen
rapid rise in fortunes
MAKEOVER:
Princess Anne
inaugurates the
Hindujas’ OWO
Raffles Hotel in
Whitehall
some very senior figures – among them, finan-
cier Malik Karim (a new entry at 94 with
£140m), who was Conservative party treasurer.
He did the job in 2021-22, the first non-white
person trusted with the responsibility. Another
Ismaili, Naushad Jivraj (55th with £300m),
president of the Ismaili community, operates a
family hospitality group that runs hotels, coffee
houses, restaurants, residential properties and
a private members’ club in Sloane Square, Lon-
don. Other Ismailis from an affluent communi-
ty include Firoz Kassam (56th with £300m),
owner of Oxford United Football Club and the
Kassam Stadium; Aly and Amir and Alim Jan-
mohamed (61st with £250m), who have a KFC
franchise; Aly and Shezhad Janmohamed (67th
with £225m); Aly Esmail (73rd with £225m) and
Bashir and Al-Karim Nathoo (new entry ranked
80th with £175m), who manage and develop
properties and hotels.
Some entrepreneurs have moved into con-
struction. Rajbir Singh Manak, who runs and
owns Akaal, re-enters the list at number 100
with £125m. He was on the list in 2018.
It is apparent that half a century after sub-
stantial Asian immigration began into the UK
from India, Pakistan, East Africa and other
parts of the world, the children and grandchil-
dren of first generation pioneers are taking
over the running of family businesses. In
hotels, Jasminder Singh and Surinder
Arora have their sons, Inderneel
and Sanjay respectively. The vast
Hinduja empire could not be run
without the grandsons of the
founder Parmanand Deepchand
Hinduja, who was born in Shikar-
pur in Sind (now in Pakistan) on
November 25, 1901, and estab-
lished the family business when he
moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) in
1914. Gopi Hinduja has two sons,
Sanjay, 59, and Dheeraj, 51;
Prakash has two, Ajay
(55) and Ramkrishan
(52); and Ashok has one, Shom, 30.
Any future government – Labour or Con-
servative – would have to take note of the
growing importance of Dubai, which is luring
away entrepreneurs with its low rates of tax.
Of course, those who make Dubai their per-
manent home can be resident in the UK for no
more than 90 days in any financial year. Many
have bought homes in Dubai which they
visit during the winter months.
In 1972 when Idi Amin expelled his
country’s entire Asian population,
Uganda’s loss proved to be Britain’s
gain. In fact, the former prime minis-
ter and now foreign secretary, Lord
David Cameron, has lauded Ugandan
Asians as the “best immigrants” Brit-
ain has ever had. Labour will have to
think carefully about the
long term conse-
quences of get-
ting rid of “non
doms” and tax-
ing people not just on their UK incomes but
on their global earnings. Labour could, of
course, say “good riddance” but the wealthy
can prove surprisingly mobile. As far as British
Asian entrepreneurs are concerned, Britain’s
loss could prove to be Dubai’s gain.
Sir Anwar Pevez, the chairman of Bestway,
says he loves the life in London but points out
that he will turn 90 in 2025. The British win-
ters are just too cold for him. So in winter he
shifts to Dubai, where he has a home with a
cook and a driver to attend to his needs. Also
Dubai is well placed for board meetings in Pa-
kistan. He looks forward to his evening walks
in Dubai.
Lord Rami Ranger (68th with £225m), the
chairman of Sun Mark, declares: “Many peo-
ple have left for Dubai for tax reasons, but I
don’t want to do that. As I live in the UK, I
should also pay tax in this country.”
But he is a frequent visitor to Dubai, where
he says “the view is stunning” from his apart-
ment on the 59th floor of the 830-metre tall
Burj Khalifa building. The life is agreeable –
he can get around in shorts and a tee shirt.
He explains those who settle in Dubai do
not have to pay tax on their global incomes.
He estimates local income tax rates to be
“about 5 per cent”.
Another attraction for Indians is that Mum-
bai, India’s commercial capital, “is two hours
away”.
Nirmal Sethia (4th with £6.6bn), famous for
his Newby Teas and his charitable work in re-
membrance of his late wife, Chitra, is another
man who divides his time between London
and Dubai.
Apurv Bagri (33rd with £550m), the presi-
dent and CEO of the Metdist group of compa-
nies that trades in copper and other non-fer-
rous metals, is one of the leading thinkers on
the Asian Rich List. Having been chair of the
London Business School, he is now its emeri-
tus chair and is helping to appoint a Global
Advisory Board for the institution. He also
knows Dubai well, having just stepped off the
board of its financial regulator after 19 years.
“I had been there since it was started – I was
appointed by the ruler. I am very proud of
what the DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Au-
thority) has achieved.”
Bagri, whose daughter Aditi lives in Dubai,
says: “We have an office in Dubai.”
He says the world of business is changing
very fast so he has decided to “reinvent” him-
self. “Generative AI or whatever we choose to
call it will be able to do a lot of the work that
professionals quite possibly do today.”
He adds that the London Business School
will have to change along with the world out-
side. “A Global Advisory Board will, I hope,
comprise people who can help the school un-
derstand those changes and mega trends.”
The younger generation of British Asians
are already introducing the latest technologi-
cal advances but Bagri is talking about chang-
es that are so fundamental that they cannot
even be conceived at this stage.
There is another trend in this year’s Asian
Rich List – how the rapid growth of the Indian
economy is affecting Britain and is being lev-
eraged by British Indian businessmen. Bagri
says a revolution is taking place in village In-
dia. Dinesh Dhamija (86th with £150m), the
man who sold the online travel form ebookers
for £247m, has called his new book, The Indi-
an Century. He calculates a Free Trade Agree-
ment between the UK and India will create
300,000 new British jobs within three years.
2024 | Eastern Eye Asian Rich List
Asian Rich List
The rapid growth of the Indian
economy has implications for
Britain
Dubai is posing a serious
threat to the UK with its
low tax rates
Rajbir
Singh
Manak
Al-karim
Nathoo
Balbinder
Singh Sohal
The Hinduja family
Global Business
£33.5bn £3bn
THE most significant event to take place in the
Hinduja family in the last 12 months has un-
doubtedly been Srichand Hinduja’s passing on
May 17, 2023, at the age of 87.
Although he worked closely with his three
younger brothers – Gopichand (83), Prakash
(78) and Ashok (73), and their sons – SP was
very clearly the head of the family. But in a
way, it has been business as usual in troubled
times. In the last five years or so that SP had
been ill, it is Gopi who has been running the
show. And it’s a big show – a dozen verticals
with nearly 200,000 employees in some 50
countries.
On the business side, the most high profile
legacy project was the September opening of
the restored Old War Office in Whitehall, now
known as the OWO Raffles Hotel, with Princess
Anne doing the honours. Significantly, Nitin
Gadkari, India’s road transport and highways
minister in Narendra Modi’s cabinet, visited
Ashok Leyland’s Chennai factory to commem-
orate the company’s 75th anniversary.
In the IT world, Hinduja Global Solutions
has become a major international player and
has picked up some important clients in the
UK, among them the Government Digital Ser-
vice, which forms part of the Cabinet Office.
The Hinduja owned-Gulf Oil – a brand
which has presence in more than 100 countries
across five continents – has acquired a control-
ling interest in Tirex Transmission, an Indian
company which manufactures fast chargers for
Electric Vehicles (EVs).
In India too, the Hindujas appear to be rea-
sonably confident of being able to acquire the
financial services company, Reliance Capital,
for nearly £1 billion.
Back in Mumbai, the five-storey Hinduja of-
fices in Worli overlooking the Arabian Sea are
due to be replaced by an eco-friendly 32-storey
tower over the next four years.
In London, too, the Hindujas have move out
of their headquarters in New Zealand House in
the Haymarket while the building is modern-
ised. They haven’t had to go very far – just
round the corner in Charles II Street next to His
Majesty’s Theatre where Phantom of the Opera
has been playing since 1986. The tale of the
Hindujas is also the stuff of operas.
Gopi’s temporary offices are, if anything,
rather more elegant than his old one. In a wait-
ing room, there is a print of a drawing of cows
by the artist Olivia Fraser, who lives in Delhi
with her author husband William Dalrymple.
At the entrance, though, next to a statue of
Ganesh, there is a portrait of SP alongside a lit-
tle flame on a diya. There are other portraits of
SP in Gopi’s office, along with photographs of
their father, Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja,
who founded the dynasty.
He was born in Shikarpur in Sind (now in
Pakistan) on November 25, 1901, and founded
the family business when he moved to Bom-
bay (now Mumbai) in 1914.
SP, too, was born in Shikarpur on Novem-
ber 28, 1935. The family horse was brought
to Bombay during partition. SP claimed
family treasures were left behind, buried in
the sand.
According to the Hindujas, P D Hinduja
“entered the international arena with an of-
fice in Iran (the first outside India) in 1919.
The twin pillars of the business were merchant
banking and trade. The group remained head-
quartered in Iran till 1979. It then moved to
Europe. Spanning across continents,
the Hinduja group went on to
strengthen its businesses
with diversifications in
the fields of Mobility,
Digital Technology, Me-
dia, Entertainment &
Communications, In-
frastructure Project
Development, Lu-
bricants & Specialty
Chemicals, Energy,
Real Estate and
Healthcare.”
SP’s death
has marked a
seismic
change in
Gopi’s life –
and in the
Hinduja fami-
ly. The two
were very close.
Their daily rou-
tine was to go to
the Iskcon Radha-
Krishna Temple in So-
ho just after dawn and
then take a brisk walk in St
James’s Park where they would feed hundreds
of birds.
“Malik jo chahta hai, wohe hota hai,” said
Gopi in Hindi, meaning ‘Whatever the Amighty
wants is what ultimately happens.’
He misses his elder brother (though SP’s
daughters, Shanu and Vinoo, have taken legal
action over family assets).
After SP’s death, life became a “big wreck”
for Gopi, he tells the Asian Rich List 2024. “You
know how close we had been. One thing is that
he got relief after suffering for the last three to
four years. But whenever I met him, he used to
open his eyes [in recognition]. It [his death] re-
ally depressed me. My missing him is the maxi-
mum [among family members]. Time is the on-
ly cure. But it won’t happen overnight.”
He and SP had adjoining flats in the same
building. “We used to have lunch together, din-
ner together, everything was together.”
Now the challenge will
be to ensure SP’s val-
ues are passed on to
subsequent gener-
ations. Gopi has
two sons, Sanjay,
59, and Dheeraj,
51; Prakash has
two, Ajay, 55,
and Ramkris-
han, 52; while
Ashok has one,
Shom, 30.
“SP’s legacy was
to follow the princi-
ples and
val-
Eastern Eye Asian Rich List | 2024
Leaving a lasting and iconic
legacy for Britain
The Hindujas forge ahead despite a major personal setback
Asian Rich List
Gopichand Hinduja;
(left) paying
respects to the
patriarch; (opposite
page, top) the late
SP’s portrait at the
Hinduja office; (bot-
tom) Princess Anne
with Hinduja broth-
ers at the lauch of
The OWO Hotel
2024 | Eastern Eye Asian Rich List
ues of our parents which are very simple: work
to give; your word is a bond; advance fearlessly;
and, growth with partnership. He always want-
ed the entire family to be together. We four
brothers were four bodies but one soul. And we
always had great respect for him, and he loved
his brothers more than his children.”
Gopi probably does not mean that literally,
but the trust between the brothers was unques-
tioning. “He wanted to ensure that if something
happens to me, he would look after everyone.
And if something happens to him, I would do
the same. And this is how things are moving
forward.” Jointly, the brothers did a lot globally,
whether it was political, with second track di-
plomacy, in the interests of India and the host
country. “Also, we always try to see what best
can be done for the group and the family. We
still follow the same principles: that everything
belongs to everyone, and nothing belongs to
anyone. SP always followed the best samskara
(the karma theory of Indian philosophy) and
liked to give good thoughts and suggestions to
others. And he always believed friendship and
relationships are very important.”
The Hindujas have tried to bring a quintes-
sentially Indian philosophy, with notable re-
spect for elders, into the running of both the
family and a worldwide business.
Gopi refers to his sons’ generation. “Sanjay,
Dheeraj, Ajay, Shom, all have their responsibili-
ties. They are very active. Even the fourth gen-
eration shares the same values. So, I hope gen-
erations to come will follow the principles and
values of our parents. At the end of the day
there is nothing you can take away (when you
pass away). Some people don’t understand
that – and talk about ‘money, money, money’.
SP was down to earth.”
Gopi is also proud of the family DNA. “In a
family when the DNA becomes different, their
thoughts become different. But in our family
whoever lives in London, breakfast is together,
lunches together, dinner together. And even
when the brothers and their children come, we
all live together. In my opinion and in SP’s
opinion, unity is strength. We remember him.
How can we ever forget him?” he asks.
Four brothers – all for one and one for all –
have become three. “We brothers remain
down-to-earth,” adds Gopi.
The Diwali party is the highlight of the Hin-
duja social calendar but Gopi revealed that as a
mark of respect to SP, “Diwali has been can-
celled for this year. We won’t be having (the
traditional party) because of this tragedy.”
During the formal inauguration of the OWO
Raffles Hotel, Gopi remembered SP on what
was a “special day for us”.
The Hindujas bought the Old War Office, a
Grade II* listed building, from the government
on a 250-year lease for £350m. The eight-year
restoration to turn the building into a hotel
with 125 rooms and suites and 85 private
apartments with marble staircases and floors
and chandeliers has cost £1.2bn.
He told some 600 guests who attended the
opening: “The idea to acquire and restore this
iconic building came about while I was on a
walk with my late brother
SP. And although he’s not
with us today, I am sure he
is proud of what has finally
been achieved. We have his
blessings upon us always, on
the whole family.”
Significantly, Gopi also
stressed the need for family
unity. “Nothing is better in
the world [than] to have a united family and
our efforts are always there, [focusing on] how
to keep the family united and be unique.”
Gopi went out of his way to thank two mem-
bers of his own family: “This project has been a
labour of love for the family. I pay special credit
to my elder son, Sanjay, and my daughter-in-
law, Shalini, the wife of (my younger son),
Dheeraj, who really supported and helped me
to complete [the project].”
The Hindujas would not be the premier
business family that they are if they did not
plan for the future.
Gopi’s assessment of the British economy
and Rishi Sunak’s prospects is cautious: “He’s
trying to see what best he can do. But he has
many challenges.”
He is more optimistic about India: “I can re-
peat what I said in 2019. India is going to be the
world’s third largest economy.”
He has signed a deal with Yogi Adityanath,
chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, to set up a large
plant to build electric buses and trucks in his
state. It will have the advantages of being run
by Ashok Leyland, a Hinduja flagship and In-
dia’s second-largest commercial vehicle maker.
When Gadkari came to Chennai for the cere-
mony to mark Ashok Leyland’s 75th anniversa-
ry, the company launched three new electric
vehicles. The company also exhibited the
country’s first hydrogen internal combustion
engine truck, which was launched earlier in
collaboration with Reliance Industries. This
will be India’s first fuel cell bus that will com-
mercially ply on the country’s roads.
Dheeraj Hinduja, chairman of Ashok Ley-
land and Switch Mobility – the latter was previ-
ously Optare, the British bus manufacturers –
said: “Ashok Leyland’s 75-year journey is a sto-
ry of transformation and innovation. As we cel-
ebrate this milestone, we renew our pledge to
further shape the future of the commercial ve-
hicle industry. We have set our sights on pio-
neering sustainable transportation solutions
and aim to support India’s economic develop-
ment for years to come.”
Alongside Dheeraj was his cousin, Shom,
and his uncles, Prakash and Ashok, who are
based in Geneva and Mumbai, respectively.
Meanwhile, Gulf Oil, which has Sanjay as
chairman, has invested over £10m in taking a
51 per cent stake in Tirex Transmission “in a
strategic move to bolster its presence in the
Electric Vehicle (EV) seg-
ment”.
Gulf’s brand ambassadors
in India include a number of
star cricketers – Mahendra
Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya
and Smriti Mandhana. It is
also promoted by one of the
major Indian Premier
League franchises – Chen-
nai Super Kings.
Sanjay, who has a fondness for fast cars, has
entered into an agreement with Williams Rac-
ing. During the autumn season, Formula One
fans had the chance to choose a special one-off
livery in Gulf’s colours which featured on the
Williams Racing’s F1 cars at the Singapore, Jap-
anese and Qatar Grands Prix.
There was mention of Hinduja Global Solu-
tions (HGS) in Grant Thornton’s India Meets
Britain Tracker 2023. Of the 954 companies an-
alysed, HGS UK was also recognised as the
12th fastest-growing Indian company. HGS has
over 19,947 employees across 35 delivery cen-
tres in nine countries, “making a difference to
some of the world’s leading brands”.
“Securing this opportunity was not based on
the ability to convey just what we could do to-
day, but rather our unwavering dedication to
being a trusted, collaborative partner that con-
veyed where we could go in the future – togeth-
er,” said a HGS spokesman. “We are looking
forward to this incredible opportunity to sup-
port the Cabinet Office in their vision to rede-
fine the digital landscape of central UK govern-
ment public services.”
Back in his office, there was a touching ges-
ture from Gopi. Looking up at a portrait of D P
Hinduja, Gopi folded his hands and offered a
silent pranam to his father.
The Hinduja family’s holdings in listed com-
panies have risen over the last year and their
private companies have all performed well.
The family have significant property and pri-
vate assets which we value at £33.5 billion.
Asian Rich List
We four brothers
were four bodies,
but one soul
Lakshmi and
Aditya Mittal
Steel
£12.9bn £100m
LAKSHMI MITTAL, who is 73, is executive
chairman of ArcelorMittal, a position he took
over in February 2021. Although his son, Adi-
tya, is only 47, he is already the chief executive
officer of the firm and being groomed to take
over from his father as head of the firm. In
some ways, Aditya is already captaining the
side.
Mittal’s daughter, Vanisha, who is four years
younger than her brother, is also on the board
of ArcelorMittal as a non-independent director.
The steel industry was badly affected by the
COVID pandemic. Just when its fortunes start-
ed to revive, the war in Ukraine disrupted ener-
gy prices, making steel production much more
expensive. As it is, the Mittals have a large plant
in Ukraine in Kryvyi Rih in the south of the
country. This was going to be mothballed, but
management agreed with the locals that it
should be kept going for “both business and
community reasons”. But only one of its three
blast forces is making steel in a plant working
at “20-25 per cent” of capacity.
For the Mittals, the big chal-
lenge is posed by climate
change. Steel is notorious
for producing huge quan-
tities of carbon dioxide.
There is a joke going
around in the steel in-
dustry, especially at
ArcelorMittal: “For
every tonne of steel
you make, you pro-
duce two tonnes of
carbon dioxide. So,
you could actually
say, steel compa-
nies are actually not
steel companies;
they are companies
that make carbon
dioxide, and steel is
a byproduct.”
In an effort to
reach the Net Zero
target by 2050, the
Mittals have bought
a couple of plants
that will help the
transition: the state-
of-the-art Compan-
hia Siderúrgica do Pe-
cém in northeast Brazil
and the Hot Briquetted
Iron (HBI) outfit in Cor-
pus Christi, Texas, in the
USA.
At the Indian plant in Hazira in Guja-
rat, which ArcelorMittal owns in a joint
venture with Nippon Steel of Japan, in-
creasing production of steel – initially
from nine million tonnes a year to 15m
tonnes and then to 20m tonnes – is al-
ready under way.
Across Europe – in Ghent in Belgium,
Spain, and France – the Mittals are in-
troducing new ways of making steel
using either natural gas or “green” hy-
drogen.
One prestige project that has gone to
the Mittals is the contract to make the
torches for the 2024 Olympic and Para-
lympic Games in Paris. ArcelorMittal
will
also manufacture
the mini-caul-
drons and
the “Spec-
taculars”,
the large Olympic
rings and Paralym-
pic agitos that will
be installed in Paris.
The high-tech torch-
es look very different
from the ones that
have been used in past
games. They are 70cm
long, have mini-
mum and
maxi-
mum diameters of 3.5cm and 10cm,
respectively, and will each weigh
1.5kg.
They will be made using steel from
three French plants, which is perhaps
a little ironic considering back in 2006,
both Arcelor and the French govern-
ment did everything possible to block
the hostile bid by Mittal Steel. Three
French sites have been carefully cho-
sen to produce steel with a reduced
carbon footprint.
At Châteauneuf, ArcelorMittal is cast-
ing 100 per cent recycled steel from
scrap. This chosen route produces
steel with a reduced carbon footprint.
The steel is then rolled at Florange, on
lines that are usually used for the most
demanding products in the automo-
tive and food packaging industries. Fi-
nally, the ArcelorMittal site at Woippy
cuts the steel sheet into blanks ready for shap-
ing. In total, there are 10 main components
that need to be assembled with meticulous
care.
Aditya is thrilled that ArcelorMittal has been
bestowed with a metaphorical medal even be-
fore the Olympics have begun.
He acknowledged: “It’s a privilege and a great
responsibility for ArcelorMittal to manufacture
the torches – such an iconic symbol of the
Olympic and Paralympic Games – for Paris
2024.
“ArcelorMittal’s teams are mobilising all their
expertise to produce high-quality steel with a
reduced carbon footprint, enabling us to create
a torch as beautiful as Mathieu Lehanneur im-
agined, and as sustainable as we want it to be. I
am delighted with this superb achievement
and congratulate all the ArcelorMittal teams
working on this fantastic project.”
It so happens that father and son ran with the
torch when the Olympic Games came to Lon-
don in 2012, so it is possible they will do the
same in Paris.
Although he has been giving increasing re-
sponsibility to his son, Mittal says he remains
“actively engaged in the business”, works full
time, and comes in daily to his offices in Berke-
ley Square in London.
He expects his staff to follow his example. It is
known he is not a fan of the hybrid or “work
from home” schools of thought. It seems many
of his staff, especially at senior levels, have
been with him for long periods of time. It is
said to be a “sticky” company that manages to
hold on to its talents.
To be sure, he has to travel extensively, visiting
his plants or leading politicians all over the
world. In Europe, he has managed to convince
governments that ArcelorMittal’s switch to
green methods of making steel has to be subsi-
dised by European Commission funding.
Today, he is widely recognised as probably
the most important man in the steel industry.
On a mission to produce
smarter steel
Mittal duo all set to take the steel industry into the green future
10
Asian Rich List
Eastern Eye Asian Rich List | 2024
STEELY RESOLVE: Lakshmi
Mittal; (above) a model of
ArcelorMittal’s Olympics torch;
(opposite page, top) Lakshmi Mittal,
Belgian prime minister Alexander
De Croo and Aditya Mittal and (bot-
tom) with the Olympic torch in
London in 2012