Billionaire Hinduja Brothers top Sunday Times Rich List 2022

The billionaire Hinduja brothers have topped the 2022 Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune of £28.47 billion.

The brothers run the Mumbai-based conglomerate Hinduja Group that owns businesses in automotive, oil, chemicals, banking, IT, media and real estate

Sri and Gopi Hinduja saw their wealth increase by more than £11 billion compared to 2021.

Their business was founded by their father, Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja, who was of Sindhi origin.

He moved the business headquarters to Iran in 1919 before his sons moved the base to London in 1979.

Shortly before their father died in 1971, the brothers claimed he told them to “advance fearlessly”.

The sons expanded the business globally, with investments in everything from trucking to banking, IT and media.

Vacuum entrepreneur Sir James Dyson is in second place, with a collective family wealth of £23 billion.

Indian-born British businessmen and property investors David and Simon Reuben are in third place with £22.26 billion.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2022 also saw Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy appear on the list, making the Chancellor the first serving MP to do so.

The Sunaks found themselves 222nd on the list and it comes just days after Mr Sunak told the public “the next few months will be tough” as the cost of living crisis continues unabated.

The pair have a joint £730 million fortune and their vast riches have come under scrutiny.

Ms Murthy previously held non-domicile status in the UK, meaning she was not legally obliged to pay tax in the UK on her foreign income.

Earlier in 2022, it was reported that she took £11.6 million in dividends in the past year from Infosys, the Indian IT firm founded by her father.

Ms Murthy’s non-dom status meant she would not have paid UK tax – at a rate of 39.35% – on the £11.6 million she took in dividends.

She insisted she paid taxes on all UK income and said her status is required due to her being an Indian citizen.

One Twitter user wrote: “Rishi Sunak and his wife making the Rich List is a bitter pill to take from a man in charge of the country’s purse strings – when so many have been forced into poverty with the current cost of living crisis.”

Robert Palmer, who works with pressure group TaxJustice, said:

“It is particularly striking that Rishi Sunak is the first politician to make the list.”

“He had the power to ease the cost of living but has done far too little. It is way past the time for the Chancellor to act.”

But Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has said it’s “fantastic” that Mr Sunak has joined the Sunday Times Rich List.

Mr Raab said: “He’s a fantastic example of someone who’s been successful in business, who’s coming to make a big impact in public service.

“I think we want more of those people. I think it’s fantastic that you’ve got someone of British-Indian origin, showing all people in our country that you can get to the top of politics.

“And frankly, I think if I understood correctly, the Sunday Times Rich List was a reflection of not just him but his wife.

“His wife is an incredibly successful entrepreneur in her own right.

“Again someone that’s here, British-Indian, and actually I think we want to see more women succeeding in both business and politics.”

There are a record 177 billionaires in the UK in 2022 as the wealthiest figures grew their combined fortunes by 8% to a record £710 billion in just 12 months.