Hindujas named richest British Asians in UK for fifth year

The Hinduja family was today named the UK's richest British Asians for the fifth consecutive year, with an estimated net worth of 22 billion pounds.

The London-headquartered Hinduja Group headed by brothers Srichand P Hinduja, Gopichand P Hinduja, Prakash P Hinduja and Ashok P Hinduja had a robust 2017 to add an impressive 3 billion pounds to their total net worth from the previous year, according to the annual 'Asian Rich List' published by UK-based Asian Media Group (AMG).

"The Hindujas' trading empire is spread over five continents and run by four brothers and their children a testament to their incredibly strong family values. The group has what GP Hinduja likes to call 10 'verticals', spanning a variety of sectors and allowing true diversification," the Rich List notes.

Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi N Mittal came in second with an estimated 14 billion pound fortune, up from the previous year's 12.6 billion pounds.

Mittal is followed by another India-born entrepreneur Sri Prakash Lohia, the founder and chairman of Indorama Corporation a diversified petrochemical and textile company, with an estimated net worth of 5.1 billion pounds.

This year's list shows the combined overall net worth of the featured 101 UK-based millionaires of South Asian origin hit 80.2 billion pounds in 2017, an increase of just under 11 billion pounds over the previous year.

The top 10 richest British Asians are valued at a total of 54.25 billion pounds, representing 68 per cent of the total figure.

"The list shows the remarkable strength and diversity of Asian businesses in the UK. Despite the challenges of the general economy, many business leaders in the community have seen opportunity and potential and moved quickly to capitalise. It is an inspiring picture and one that should energise entrepreneurs everywhere," said Shailesh Solanki, AMG executive and one of a panel of four experts who examined British Asian wealth over the last year for the list.

The entry cut-off for this year's list emerged as 90 million pounds, resulting in eight new entries with a combined value of nearly 1 billion pounds.

Ranked fourth this year is Pakistan-born founder of Bestway conglomerate Anwar Pervez with 2.35 billion pounds, followed by two other Indian-origin billionaires at joint fifth retail giants Simon, Bobby & Robin Arora and metals tycoon Anil Agarwal with a net worth of 2.3 billion pounds each.

This year's list sees Rajesh Ram Satiija of Sun & Sand Group, Zuber and Mohsin Issa of Euro Garages, and Tony, Raj & Harpal Matharu of Global Grange Ltd making it to billionaire status, taking the total number of South Asian origin billionaires based in Britain to 12.

Satiija is among the high risers in terms of net worth this year, with an increase of 390 million pounds to his wealth. His mining to agriculture business spans three continents and comes in at 1.3 billion pounds.

"Satiija worked for an export business before starting out on his own, setting up an auto-parts business in Nigeria. He has a home in Mayfair and is now looking at a public flotation for his fast expanding group, where revenues have tripled over the last few years," notes the Rich List, which is to be formally unveiled at the Asian Business Awards ceremony in London this evening.

The awards, now in their 21st year, honour outstanding achievements among British Asians across different industries.

Some of the key award winners this year include ICICI Bank as Asian Business Bank of the Year, hotelier Joginder Sanger as Businessman of the Year, and Shamil Thakrar for Restaurant of the Year for his Dishoom chain of Indian restaurants in the UK.

"The enterprising spirit and the crucial role of entrepreneurs is vital not only to the economy but to society as a whole as it serves to inspire the next generation of businessmen and women," said Kalpesh Solanki, Group Managing Editor of AMG.

"It is this attitude that will drive the economy forward, fundamentally creating jobs and giving families value and sense of purpose. The winners of the Asian Business Awards 2018 are just a handful of these amazingly dedicated, innovative and committed individuals," Solanki said.