Srichand Hinduja

The billionaire patriarch of Britain’s richest family and chair of the globe-spanning Hinduja Group conglomerate, Srichand Hinduja, is dead.

Hinduja, known by his initials SP, was suffering from dementia. His family said he had passed away peacefully on Wednesday morning, May 17, aged 87.

 He was chairman of the eponymous business group which owns public companies in India with interests in banking, chemicals, software, and commercial vehicles.

Hinduja and his younger brother Gopichand, 83, topped the Sunday Times Rich List in 2022 for a fourth time, with an estimated net worth of 28.5 billion pounds ($36 billion) that includes property worth millions in central London.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our father,” Hinduja’s daughters Shanu and Vinoo said in a statement.

“SP was a visionary titan of industry and business, humanitarian and philanthropist … He touched countless lives on his path, and we are forever grateful for the time we cherished with him.”

“Amongst other things, SP will be remembered for his great contributions in bringing India and its culture to the global stage through his work and philanthropic efforts,” Hinduja’s daughters said.

The Hinduja Group, which employs 200,000 people across more than 30 countries, was founded in 1914 by Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja, who traded in carpets and dried fruit from Iran before his sons Srichand and Gopichand shifted their base to Britain in the 1970s.