Once again, the UK Rich List has a distinctly Indian feel to it.
The Sunday Times newspaper has published their list of the wealthiest people in the UK, with Gopi Hinduja coming out on top with a whopping £35 billion fortune.
The 84-year-old oversees the Hinduja Group, an international conglomerate with interests in more than ten different industries, including oil, finance, and healthcare. Founded more than a century ago, the company is still going strong – recording a gross profit of more than £1 billion in the final quarter of 2023 alone.
Hinduja’s is not the only Indian presence in the top 10…
A Very Good Year
David and Simon Reuben, born in Mumbai, also find themselves on the Rich List in fourth place.
They have a range of business interests, with a particular penchant for sport – they own the Arena Racing Company (ARC), one of the largest stakeholders in UK horse racing.
The sport continues to grow in popularity thanks to meetings like the Cheltenham Festival, where more than 250,000 people in person – and millions more on TV – watch the drama unfold.
The Cheltenham Festival 2024 odds are a particular point of interest for the industry, with millions wagered on the outcome of races like the Gold Cup, for which Galopin Des Champs, the 5/6 favourite, will carry the hopes of many punters. They can use a Cheltenham free bet offer for their Festival wagers, with a chunk of the bookmakers’ revenue being reinvested back into the sport via the betting levy.
That’s excellent news for the Reubens, who own 16 racecourses across the UK via their ARC holding company, as well as interests in live-streaming technology and greyhound racing.
The brothers, whose grandfather David Sassoon was a famous entrepreneur in India back in the 1800s, have since diversified into part-ownership of Newcastle United, the English Premier League club that was taken over by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund back in 2021. The Reubens are thought to have a 10% shareholding in the Magpies.
The family has almost maintained a keen interest in sectors including new technologies, property, commercial real estate, and private equity, with the Sunday Times Rich List placing them fourth in the standings with an estimated worth of £24.3 billion.
Steeled for Success
A third Indian-born business magnate finds himself within the UK’s ten richest billionaires.
Lakshmi Mittal has made his fortune in steel, heading up ArcelorMittal – one of the largest steel-making enterprises on the planet. He’s also the chairman of a related company, Aperam, which specialises in the production of stainless steel.
Rajasthan-born and bred, Mittal made history in 2005 when he was ranked third in Forbes’ list of the richest people in the world – the first time that an Indian citizen had been bestowed with such an honour.
Respected as a savvy businessman and strategist, Mittal has been asked to take a seat on the board or council of some of the most prominent organisations on the planet. He sits on the board of directors for Goldman Sachs and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council.
A former winner of Businessperson of the Year, as decided by the Sunday Times, the 74-year-old has also featured in the Time 100 list of the most influential people around.
Having accrued a wealth of £16 billion, Mittal has been keen to invest his money in the things he loves. When his daughter, Vanisha, got married in 2005, it made headlines as the second most expensive wedding in history. A year prior, his purchase of a London property formerly owned by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone for £67 million also broke records as the most expensive home on the planet.
He, alongside the Reubens and Gopi Hinduja, will be hoping for a similarly fruitful 2024!
John Denham
