Who Was Lord Swraj Paul, Padma Bhushan Awardee And UK House Of Lords Member

Lord Swraj Paul, a leading NRI industrialist and philanthropist, died in London at the age of 94. Mr Paul was unwell and rushed to a hospital, where he died on Thursday.

Lord Swraj Paul was ranked 81st in 2025 with an estimated wealth of GBP 2 billion, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

Who Was Lord Swraj Paul?

Swraj Paul was born in India on February 18, 1931, in Jalandhar, Punjab. He completed his schooling at Labbu Ram Doaba School in Jalandhar and graduated from Forman Christian College in Lahore and Doaba College in Jalandhar. Later, he moved to the US and pursued mechanical engineering and obtained BSc, MSc, and MechE degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

After completing his higher studies, he returned to India to join his family business, Apeejay Surendra Group. In 1966, he moved to the UK to ensure treatment for his daughter Ambika, who was afflicted with leukaemia. She died aged four.

Around the same time, he founded a small business of natural gas tubes and soon began acquiring more steel units. This ultimately resulted in the establishment of the Caparo Group in 1968, which manufactures a variety of structural wheels, precision tubes, spirally welded tubes, industrial wires, and many other items. It became one of the biggest steel conversion and distribution companies in the UK.

In 1978, Swraj Paul was awarded a knighthood by the British Queen, after which he was given the title Lord Paul of Marylebone and became a member of the UK House of Lords. He was a member of the Foreign Policy Center Advisory Council and an ambassador for British business from 1998 until 2010. From 2000 to 2005, he co-chaired the Indo-British Roundtable Conference.

He has a total of 15 honorary degrees from universities in the UK, USA, India, Switzerland, and Russia. Mr Paul is also the recipient of the Padma Bhushan and Bharat Gaurav Award. Recently, he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to education, philanthropy, and industry.

Mr Paul founded the Ambika Paul Foundation, a nonprofit organisation focused on health and education initiatives for the benefit of children and youth.