Architect of a Global Empire

Gopichand Hinduja helped turn a modest family trading firm into one of the world's richest conglomerates

- By SAMAR SRIVASTAVA

GOPICHAND PARMANAND Hinduja—GP to friends and business associates— passed away in London on November 4, marking the end of an era for one of the world’s most influential business dynasties.

For decades, the Hinduja name had been synonymous with global ambition, albeit from a family with its roots in the Indian subcontinent. Yet, behind the formality of conglomerate press releases and the polished smiles of family portraits, GP, 85, was the understated engine—calm, methodical, and intensely private—who helped transform a modest trading outfit into a multinational empire. He rarely met outsiders.

Born in 1940 into a Sindhi business family, Gopichand grew up in Licence Raj India where frugality was prized and hard work praised, but being seen as wealthy frowned upon.