Gopichand Hinduja obit: The quiet billionaire who courted power, outlasted scandals

The Hinduja Group chairman, Gopichand Parmanand Hinduja, who passed away early today (November 4) at the age of 85, once remarked that he never worked for money and never bothered to count his wealth. Yet, wealth was counted for him. The 2025 edition of the Sunday Times Rich List ranked the Hinduja family as the richest in the United Kingdom, with an estimated net worth of £32.3 billion.

Gopichand Hinduja, known to his friends as GP, leaves behind a legacy of controversies and businesses spanning the automotive, technology, real estate and banking sectors. The scandal that shook the foundation of the powerful Hinduja Group was the Bofors scandal, which toppled the Rajiv Gandhi Government and resulted in the first non-Congress government at the Centre under VP Singh.

The mystery family

“An aura of money and mystery surrounds the brothers,” Chitra Subramanian, who uncovered the $1.3-billion Bofors scandal, writes in her book, Bofors Gate. According to reports, what has held the family together, however, is their unique business structure: "Everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to anyone."

They were the only family in the world, according to Gopichand, with no individual shareholding—all assets belonged to the family collectively. This led to internal strife, with Srichand Hinduja's daughters, Vinoo and Shanu, filing a case in a London court against their three uncles, accusing them of cutting off access to funding and decision-making.

Also read: How a late-night warning had CBI team rushing from Bern with Bofors docs

At the time, Srichand Hinduja, known as SP, was suffering from dementia. Responding to their nieces' allegations, the three brothers cited the agreement the four brothers made in 2013, which stated that "everything belongs to everyone and nothing belongs to anyone".

Gopichand, along with Srichand, was co-chairman of the group until the eldest brother passed away at 87 in 2023, at which point Gopichand took over as chairman. Born on January 29, 1940, in Mumbai, Gopichand joined the family business in 1959 at the age of 19. He was the second of four brothers—after Srichand and before Prakash and Ashok—who collectively steered the Hinduja Group, founded by their father, Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja, in 1914. While Prakash Hinduja lives in Geneva and looks after the Hinduja’s investment firm, Amas SA Finance, Ashok Hinduja lives in Mumbai.

A businessman with common sense

Those who knew him described Gopichand as having a hands-on approach to mergers and acquisitions, preferring direct involvement in any M&A opportunity the Group explored. Despite his immense wealth and influence, he rarely gave interviews and maintained a low profile. Gopichand's business philosophy was best summarised in two words: "common sense". This pragmatic approach guided some of the most significant business moves in Indian corporate history.

The acquisition of Gulf Oil in 1984 was a pivotal moment. This was followed by the even more significant purchase in 1987 of Ashok Leyland—then a struggling Indian automotive manufacturer from British Leyland—marking the first major Non-Resident Indian (NRI) investment in India. Today, this turnaround is regarded as one of the most successful corporate revival stories in Indian history.

Also read: Ashok Leyland’s Dheeraj Hinduja hails Modi 3.0 Budget; calls it ‘growth oriented’

Gopichand was also instrumental in the founding of IndusInd Bank, which was conceived by his elder brother, Srichand, in 1994 as India's first new-generation private bank. Then-Finance Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the bank.

Bofors scandal

However, the Bofors scandal cast the family in a very negative light. Gopichand, Srichand and Prakash were charged with receiving unlawful commissions totalling almost Rs 64 crores. The scandal began in April 1987, when Swedish radio alleged that Swedish arms producer AB Bofors had paid bribes to senior Indian politicians and military personnel in connection with a Rs 1,437-crore contract to sell 400 units of 155-mm Howitzer guns to the Indian Army.

Subramaniam claims in her book that three of the five Swiss accounts frozen by the authorities belonged to a Hinduja company, and the other two belonged to arms dealer Win Chadha and middleman Ottavio Quattrocchi. Her book provides what is calls an account of the complex money trail, estimates the total payoff for the contract at 11.5 per cent of its cost, and indicates the significance of the accounts to the investigation's discoveries.

Also read: Hinduja brothers in legal dispute over letter dividing $11 billion fortune

She claims that the Hindujas "had direct access to everything" and clearly illustrates how their relationships and proximity to influential people in India and overseas created a pathway for the investigators to follow. She also says the Hindujas openly admitted to their closeness to power and influence at the time of the scandal.

The case against the Hindujas, however, collapsed after the Delhi High Court ruled in May 2005 that there was insufficient evidence to continue pursuing charges against them and stated that the documents submitted in support of the charges were "useless and doubtful".

Cash-for-passports scandal

The Hindujas were also embroiled in the UK's "cash-for-passports" scandal in 2001. The controversy arose after the Hindujas donated £1 million to the Millennium Dome's Faith Zone while Srichand and Gopichand were applying for British citizenship. Again, investigations into the deal found no wrongdoing by government officials. Gopichand obtained British citizenship in 1997.

Also read: BJP cites Bofors book, demands Sonia and Rahul's resignations as MPs

Gopichand is survived by his wife Sunita Hinduja, sons Sanjay and Dheeraj, and daughter Rita. In 2015, his son Sanjay married designer Anu Mahtani in a lavish £15-million wedding in Udaipur, with entertainment including Jennifer Lopez and Nicole Scherzinger. Dheeraj serves as Executive Chairman of Ashok Leyland, while Sanjay chairs Gulf Oil International.

Dheeraj's wife Shalini Hinduja spearheaded the Old War Office development project, marking the family's first foray into hospitality. It has now been renamed Raffles London Hotel and Residences. Purchased by the Hinduja Group in December 2014, the Grade II-listed building with its 1,100 rooms across seven floors had been closed to the public for over a century.