Hinduja, 63, and Gopi, 59, whose company has interests in finance, oil, industry and telecoms, topped the list of Britain's richest 200 Asians. The pair beat last year's richest Asian businessman Lakshmi Mittal, 48, whose family steel empire came second with 1.2 billion pounds.

Third was Indian television magnate Subhash Chandra, 48, with 450 million pounds. Britain's 200 most affluent Asian men and women have a combined wealth of more than seven billion pounds.

Individuals who have made it onto the list, published by the Eastern Eye newspaper, have amassed their wealth in a variety of industries including finance and commodities, fashion, retailing, information technology, hotel and catering and pharmaceuticals.

Eastern Eye editor-in-chief Sarwar Ahmed said: "we started this project three years ago and it's fascinating tosee the growth of Asian wealth in the US.

"The lowest entry this year came in at five million pounds. It's also interesting to note that there is a definite broadening of the industries that Asians are investing in."

LN Mittal was the richest Asian in the UK last year. However, his companies took a beating on the stock markets last year. With share prices of his companies plummeting, Mittal's wealth also depreciated to that extent. On the other hand, the Hindujas consolidated their position in the UK and overtook the Mittals.