LONDON — The head of Britain's richest family, Gopichand Hinduja, has died aged 85.

Known as GP, Hinduja and his family made their fortune from the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, which operates in 11 sectors including finance, media and entertainment, and oil.

It has about 200,000 staff around the world.

The family said in a statement: "He will leave a deep hole at the heart of our family."

They added that he would be "remembered for his formidable work".

Hinduja helped transform his father's modest textile and trading businesses into a global conglomerate and one of India's largest companies.

Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer, said he would be remembered as someone who "personified" the links between India and the UK.

"Whether it was in banking, whether it was in manufacturing, whether it was in property, they were always putting the UK and India together

"GP was not only a famous and respected individual in the UK and India but a great champion for our two countries. We shall miss him greatly."

Hinduja and his family topped the most recent Sunday Times Rich List with a net worth of £35.3bn. They also ranked 11th on the Forbes list of India's 100 richest businesspeople in 2024.

Hinduja was the second eldest of four brothers who controlled the business for decades.

The oldest of the four, Srichand, died in 2023 at 87.

It is not known who will now take over the leadership of the conglomerate. The youngest brother, Ashok, runs its operations across India including truck maker Ashok Leyland.

The Hinduja conglomerate operates in 48 countries.

The family also own significant real estate in London, including a number of large homes near to St James's Park and Winston Churchill's Old War Office in Whitehall, which has recently been refurbished to include a hotel.

Hinduja largely kept out of the public eye but was involved in the controversial "Hinduja affair" in 2001.

Hinduja had written to Mandelson about his brother Prakash obtaining British citizenship, after the family's charity had donated £1m to the Millennium Dome, for which Mandelson was responsible.

Mandelson resigned as a minister as a result, but was later cleared of wrongdoing after an inquiry.

Prakash, his wife, their son and his wife were jailed by a Swiss court last year for exploiting domestic staff in their Geneva mansion. — BBC