Gopichand Hinduja, who acquired and turned around struggling Ashok Leyland, dies

Gopichand P Hinduja, the billionaire patriarch of Britain’ richest family and chairman of the global Hinduja Group, passed away in London at the age of 85.

- MPOST BUREAU

Sources close to the family said he had been unwell for several weeks and died in a hospital in London.

Born in 1940, Gopichand was the second of the four Hinduja brothers who built the Hinduja Group into a business empire spanning automotive, energy, banking, and infrastructure. After the death of his elder brother Srichand Hinduja in 2023, he took charge as chairman of the 35-billion-pound conglomerate. He is survived by his wife, Sunita, sons Sanjay and Dheeraj, and daughter Rita.

A graduate of Jai Hind College in Mumbai, Gopichand began his career in the family’s trading operations in Tehran before expanding its reach to new global markets. Under his leadership, the group made several landmark acquisitions, including Gulf Oil in 1984 and the struggling truck manufacturer Ashok Leyland in 1987, which became the first major investment in India by a nonresident Indian.

Ashok Leyland's revival under his stewardship remains one of India's most celebrated corporate turnaround stories. Gopichand also guided the Group's entry into the power and infrastructure sectors, spearheading initiatives to build multi-gigawatt energy generation capacity across India.