Indian billionaire Gopichand Hinduja, Britain's richest man, dies

Billionaire Gopichand Hinduja, who headed the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, died on Tuesday at the age of 85 after a long illness in a hospital in London, the newspaper Financial Times reported, citing the family.

In May, The Sunday Times published its ranking of the richest people in Britain, and Hinduja and his family topped it. The newspaper estimated the Hinduja Group CEO's wealth at 35.3 billion pounds.

Hinduja joined the family business in 1959 and has lived in London since 1980.

The most important strategic decision he made, is the acquisition of the American oil company Gulf Oil in 1984, as well as the Indian Ashok Leyland in 1987, a manufacturer of commercial vehicles and agricultural machinery, which at that time was in a difficult financial situation.

These deals helped Hinduja grow from a modest trading company focused on India and Iran to a global conglomerate.