for decades, Srichand Hinduja served as the patriarch of a sprawling business empire behind one of the largest family fortunes in the world, the origins of which date back more than a century.
His death at the age of 87 raises questions about who will assume his role as de facto boss of the dynasty, whose legal battles in recent years over control of investments in the banking, media and energy sectors of the once-closely-knit group still threatening to tear apart .
Gopichand Hinduja, 83, is the oldest member of the British-Indian clan following Srichand’s death in London on Wednesday. He and his two younger brothers – Prakash, 77, and Ashok, 72 – have been at odds with the patriarch and his daughter Vinoo for the past three years over a letter signed by the four siblings that said the assets were one of belonged to all of them .
While the family called a truce in the bitter power struggle in November, it emerged last month that they were still privately haggling over related issues.
The clan, which spans at least four generations, has total wealth of around $14 billion, making it one of the 20 richest dynasties in Asia according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
“This is the litmus test for them Hinduja “The family’s latest truce,” said David Hawkins, co-founder of family business consultancy Percheron Advisory, of Srichand’s death.
READ ALSO: SP Hinduja, Empire’s billionaire patriarch, dies aged 87
At stake is the direction of one of the largest corporations in the world, employing more than 200,000 people worldwide.
Hinduja groupIts assets include large stakes in listed Indian companies – from automaker Ashok Leyland Ltd. to Mumbai-based lender IndusInd Bank Ltd. The Hindujas are also renovating a hotel near 10 Downing Street in central London, where they own a row of palatial houses overlooking St James’s Park.
Some three decades ago, Srichand – known as SP – founded a Swiss lender that became the focus of a British lawsuit between the family. The dispute became public in 2020 over allegations that his three brothers had attempted to seize control through a power grab. SP grandson Karam, 32, is CEO of Geneva-based Hinduja Bank, while his daughter Shanu, who turns 59 this month, is the chairman.
Shanu and Vinoo, 56, who led the latest lawsuit over the SP family branch, said in a statement on Wednesday that Srichand died peacefully that morning.
“We will continue to uphold SP’s heritage and values,” they wrote.
The father of the four Hinduja siblings, Parmanand, founded their eponymous company in 1914 in the Sindh region of British India. SP and his brothers all joined what started out as a commodity trading and carpet importing company and quickly diversified its investments, soon finding success distributing Bollywood films outside of India.
Parmanand, who died in 1971, instilled in his sons a mantra to follow: “Everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to anyone.”
For decades the brothers adhered to this policy and referred to it as their guiding principle. But this unified front broke up in the last years of SP’s life, during which he suffered from a form of dementia.
The Hindujas “were trying to align themselves with an overly broad principle,” said Leon Fernando Del Canto, a London-based lawyer who works with wealthy individuals. “In that case, the courts will decide the future of the dispute without clear agreements or a family constitution.”
As part of last year’s truce, SP’s daughters and his brothers agreed to effectively tear up a 2014 letter backing up their unifying principles, raising the prospect of their conglomerate’s dissolution.
Nevertheless, this truce looks more and more fragile. The closing agreement has yet to be signed and the family had outstanding governance and succession issues even before SP’s death. These factors could lead to future court cases in the UK or other parts of the Hinduja Empire.
For now, the clan seems united in mourning the loss of their patriarch.
“The brothers have always been four bodies and one soul,” the family said in a statement. “His loss has left a huge void.”
His death at the age of 87 raises questions about who will assume his role as de facto boss of the dynasty, whose legal battles in recent years over control of investments in the banking, media and energy sectors of the once-closely-knit group still threatening to tear apart .
Gopichand Hinduja, 83, is the oldest member of the British-Indian clan following Srichand’s death in London on Wednesday. He and his two younger brothers – Prakash, 77, and Ashok, 72 – have been at odds with the patriarch and his daughter Vinoo for the past three years over a letter signed by the four siblings that said the assets were one of belonged to all of them .
While the family called a truce in the bitter power struggle in November, it emerged last month that they were still privately haggling over related issues.
The clan, which spans at least four generations, has total wealth of around $14 billion, making it one of the 20 richest dynasties in Asia according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
“This is the litmus test for them Hinduja “The family’s latest truce,” said David Hawkins, co-founder of family business consultancy Percheron Advisory, of Srichand’s death.
READ ALSO: SP Hinduja, Empire’s billionaire patriarch, dies aged 87
At stake is the direction of one of the largest corporations in the world, employing more than 200,000 people worldwide.
Hinduja groupIts assets include large stakes in listed Indian companies – from automaker Ashok Leyland Ltd. to Mumbai-based lender IndusInd Bank Ltd. The Hindujas are also renovating a hotel near 10 Downing Street in central London, where they own a row of palatial houses overlooking St James’s Park.
Some three decades ago, Srichand – known as SP – founded a Swiss lender that became the focus of a British lawsuit between the family. The dispute became public in 2020 over allegations that his three brothers had attempted to seize control through a power grab. SP grandson Karam, 32, is CEO of Geneva-based Hinduja Bank, while his daughter Shanu, who turns 59 this month, is the chairman.
Shanu and Vinoo, 56, who led the latest lawsuit over the SP family branch, said in a statement on Wednesday that Srichand died peacefully that morning.
“We will continue to uphold SP’s heritage and values,” they wrote.
The father of the four Hinduja siblings, Parmanand, founded their eponymous company in 1914 in the Sindh region of British India. SP and his brothers all joined what started out as a commodity trading and carpet importing company and quickly diversified its investments, soon finding success distributing Bollywood films outside of India.
Parmanand, who died in 1971, instilled in his sons a mantra to follow: “Everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to anyone.”
For decades the brothers adhered to this policy and referred to it as their guiding principle. But this unified front broke up in the last years of SP’s life, during which he suffered from a form of dementia.
The Hindujas “were trying to align themselves with an overly broad principle,” said Leon Fernando Del Canto, a London-based lawyer who works with wealthy individuals. “In that case, the courts will decide the future of the dispute without clear agreements or a family constitution.”
As part of last year’s truce, SP’s daughters and his brothers agreed to effectively tear up a 2014 letter backing up their unifying principles, raising the prospect of their conglomerate’s dissolution.
Nevertheless, this truce looks more and more fragile. The closing agreement has yet to be signed and the family had outstanding governance and succession issues even before SP’s death. These factors could lead to future court cases in the UK or other parts of the Hinduja Empire.
For now, the clan seems united in mourning the loss of their patriarch.
“The brothers have always been four bodies and one soul,” the family said in a statement. “His loss has left a huge void.”
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