PTI, London :
The Hinduja brothers have emerged as the third richest family in Britain as part of an analysis of the divide between the rich and poor in the UK.
According to research published by the charity Oxfam here Monday, the latest rich list from ‘Forbes’ magazine showed that London-based Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja have a combined wealth of USD 10 billion.
The five top UK entries analysed for its ‘A Tale of Two Britains’ report found the family of the Duke of Westminster as the richest followed by David and Simon Reuben, the Hndujas, the Cadogan family, and Sports Direct retail boss Mike Ashley who between them had property, savings and other assets worth 28.2 billion pounds.
It implies that the country’s five richest families now own more wealth than the poorest 20 per cent of the population, with their wealth totalling 28.1 billion pounds – an average of 2,230 pounds each.
The development anti-poverty charity said the UK government should explore the possibility of a wealth tax after revealing how income gains and the benefits of rising asset prices had disproportionately helped those at the top.
“Britain is becoming a deeply divided nation, with a wealthy elite who are seeing their incomes spiral up, while millions of families are struggling to make ends meet,” said Oxfam’s director of campaigns and policy, Ben Phillips.
