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