Srichand Hinduja, the businessman who oversaw the wealthiest family in Britain, passed away at the age of 87, a spokesman announced.
Hinduja suffered from dementia, and his plight had become the focus of a family dispute that resulted in court hearings about whether or not to place him in a public care facility.
According to a family spokesman, the Hinduja Group conglomerate’s fourth and oldest brother passed away on Wednesday.
He was described as a “visionary titan of industry and business” by the spokesman, who also claimed that he “passed away peacefully” and was “looked after” by family.
The Hinduja family, whose wealth is worth an estimated £35.4 billion, topped the Sunday Times Rich List in 2022.
According to court documents that became public in November, a London judge stated that Hinduja’s needs had been “marginalized” by the family dispute despite the vast resources at their disposal.
Parmanand Hinduja, the father of the brothers, founded the conglomerate while trading tea and dried fruit in Mumbai in 1919 before moving it to Iran.
In the 1960s, the brothers took over and significantly expanded the company.
The expansive Hinduja Group, headed by Srichand and Gopichand of London, expanded to include businesses with interests in banking, healthcare, oil and gas, and power.
In the late 1990s, allegations that a prominent official in Tony Blair’s administration had improperly lobbied to obtain his British citizenship propelled Srichand Hinduja into the spotlight of the UK media.