This Indian family, who are the richest in UK, once had their company's headquarters in Iran, later shifted to London due to..., their business is...

Iran and Israel are both caught in the middle of a war. But before 1979, Iran was a very different country—closely connected with the West. During that time, one of India’s biggest business families, the Hindujas, had their headquarters in Tehran. The Hinduja Group was founded in 1914 by a young entrepreneur, Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja, from Shikarpur (then in Sindh). By 1919, the group had opened an office in Iran. For the next 60 years, Tehran remained the group's base of operations. However, in 1979, the Islamic Revolution toppled Iran's Shah, turning the country into a conservative Islamic state. Amid this chaos, the Hinduja Group decided to shift its headquarters to London.

This move proved to be a turning point. Today, the Hinduja family is one of the richest in the United Kingdom, with a net worth of around £35.3 billion. Their business spans 48 countries and employs over 150,000 people.

In India, the Hinduja Group owns six listed companies, including the well-known Ashok Leyland (an automobile company) and IndusInd Bank. 

Over the years, the group expanded into various sectors—automobiles, IT, media and entertainment, oil and chemicals, banking, finance, real estate, power generation, and healthcare. In 1997, Ashok Leyland launched India’s first CNG bus. The group entered Indian banking in 1994 and set up Hinduja Global Solutions (a BPO) in 2000. They also bought the famous Gulf brand and renamed it Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd.

Parmanand Hinduja passed away in 1971, and his four sons expanded the business globally. The eldest, Srichand P Hinduja, led the group until his death in May 2023. Today, Gopichand Hinduja is the chairman. His brothers Prakash and Ashok manage operations in Europe and India respectively. Gopichand lives in London, Prakash in Monaco, and Ashok in India.