Britain's wealthiest: Hinduja brothers return to top of UK rich list, Lakshmi Mittal slips six spots

Indian-born industrialist brother, Sri and Gopichand Hinduja, reclaimed the title of Britain's wealthiest by posting fortunes of 22 billion pounds to their name. The industrialist brothers posted a 1.35 billion jump in their fortunes to rank at the top of The Sunday Times Rich List 2019. The second spot went to Mumbai-born Reuben brothers with 18.66 billion pounds.

The Sunday Times Rich List estimates the 1,000 richest people in the United Kingdom based on identifiable wealth including land, property, other assets such as art, and shares in companies. It does not include the amount contained in people's bank accounts, though.

Sri and Gopichand Hinduja, who run the Hinduja Group of companies, posted a hike of 1.35 billion pounds in their fortunes over the previous year to grab the top spot on The Sunday Times' list. They had secured the number one rank back in 2014 and 2017.

The London-based industrialist, along with UK-based brother Sri, 83, and their brothers Prakash, 73, and Ashok, 68, who live in Geneva and Mumbai respectively, control more than 50 companies with a total turnover of nearly 40 billion pounds worldwide in 2018, the Rich List said.

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"Whether or not Britain leaves the EU, Gopi Hinduja is convinced it can forge a closer relationship with his family's homeland," said The Sunday Times' profile on the Co-Chair of the Hinduja Group.

As for assets, the Hinduja family owns four interconnected London homes in Carlton House Terrace, bought from Queen Elizabeth II in 2006. London-based Gopinath Hinduja, 79, along with UK-based brother Sri, 83, and their brothers Prakash, 73, and Ashok, 68, who live in Geneva and Mumbai respectively, control more than 50 companies with a total turnover of nearly 40 billion pounds worldwide in 2018, the Rich List said.

The Hindujas have stakes in oil and gas, IT, energy, media, banking, property and healthcare. Some of the biggest hike in profits last year came from London-registered Hinduja Automotive, which includes North Yorkshire bus maker Optare and saw profits rise by 50 per cent to 337 million pounds on 3.5 billion pounds sales in 2017-18.

The second spot on the Rich List, David and Simon Reuben have interests across property and internet. The brothers, who reached the fourth rank in 2018, also saw a massive 3.56 billion pounds jump in their fortunes over the previous year.

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The Reuben brothers took hold of 1 billion pounds of London property only last year. During this buying spree, the Reuben brothers snapped up Mayfair's 300-million pounds Burlington Arcade, Shoreditch's Curtain hotel and a block in Piccadilly worth 132 million pounds.

"The pair could be excused for feeling flush after selling another stake in their Global Switch data centres for 2.1 billion pounds last July, two years after banking 2.4 billion pounds for a separate chunk of the business," The Sunday Times' noted.

Meanwhile, Lakshmi N Mittal slipped six spots to rank 11 from rank 5 in the latest Rich List. The renowned steel magnate suffered losses to the tune of 3.99 billion pounds during 2018, which caused his fortunes to take a hit. The Rajasthan-born billionaire logged a business worth 10.66 billion pounds last year as he gets set to take control of his first steel plant in India with a purchase from Essar Steel.