Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Dhamija's path to fame and fortune

Dhamija's path to fame and fortune

Entrepreneur reveals his ebookers story in memoir

THE title of Dinesh Dhamija’s very entertaining memoir, which is due to be released formally by his publishers, Austin Macauley, on November 30, sums up how he worked his way to fame and fortune – Book It! How Dinesh Dhamija


sold travel agency ebookers for £247m.

As the author, he has been given a few advance copies, one of which he passed on to Eastern Eye when he attended the Asian Business Awards at The Londoner last Friday (19).

Dhamija is keeping two copies for his mother for when he visits her shortly in Delhi to celebrate her 94th birthday. To be sure, Dhamija is himself on the Asian Rich List – he is ranked 76th with his net wealth valued at £140 million, up £15m from 2020.

INSET Dinesh Dhamija Indira Gandhi and Nehru at my parents wedding 1950. 31 October 2021 Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru at his parents’ wedding.

Readers are given a mini-biography of the author at the start of the book: “Entrepreneur, politician and philanthropist Dinesh Dhamija created and built the pioneering online travel agency ebookers during the 1990s internet boom.

“Selling the company for $471 million in 2004, he founded two major Indian charities and supported the Liberal Democrat Party’s anti-Brexit campaign, becoming an MEP in 2019.

“Today Dinesh Dhamija is developing a major solar energy project in Romania, along with several property investments. He lives on the Wentworth golf course in Surrey with his wife Tani, close to their two sons and one granddaughter.”

Dhamija, who is a great admirer of Indian entrepreneurship, says in the book: “If you look at a list of the world’s largest and wealthiest companies, an incredible number of them now have CEOs of Indian heritage. Google, Microsoft, Pepsi, Mastercard, Diageo, Nokia, Adobe… the list goes on. It’s a 21st century phenomenon, and it’s symptomatic of a global rise in the status of Indian technocrats.”

He has listed his “top 10 Indian business leaders”, who include: NR Narayana Murthy (Infosys); Lakshmi Mittal (ArcelorMittal); Ratan Tata (Tata Group); Surinder Arora (Arora Group); Arjun Waney (Restaurateur); Nat Puri (Purico); Yusuf Hamied (Cipla); Anshu Jain (Cantor Fitzgerald); Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries); and Anil Agarwal (Vedanta Resources).

INSET Dinesh Dhamija extreme left with his family in 2015. 31 October 2021 Dinesh Dhamija with his family in 2015.

Dhamija used the pandemic to write his book. Ahead of its publication, he chatted to Eastern Eye at his club, 10 Trinity Square, located in the Four Seasons Hotel near Tower Hill tube station. “I am a member of about 10 clubs,” he revealed.

Hamija also belongs to the Arts Club, the RAC, Mosimann’s, and a couple of golf clubs, Wentworth and Queenwood. He had one meeting with the author and boss of Condé Nast, Nicholas Coleridge, at the Oxford and Cambridge Club

in Pall Mall – “which has surprisingly nice food”. He was inspired by Coleridge’s memoirs, The Glossy Years, and got the author to sign a copy Dhamija had brought along.

It seems Dhamija has been used to the good life from the moment he was born on March 28, 1950, in Australia, where his father, Jagan Nath Dhamija, was a senior diplomat in the Indian mission. His father, who had read law at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, was posted to many countries. Dinesh and his younger brother, Sumant, went with their father when he served as Indian high commissioner in Mauritius, and as ambassador in Afghanistan, Czechoslovakia, and Holland.

At Cambridge, “my father was a tennis blue,” said his son. In fact, his father got into Wimbledon in 1939, where he was knocked out in the first round, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4, by the American, Bobby Briggs. That year Briggs went on to win the men’s singles, the men’s doubles and the mixed doubles without dropping a set, a feat which has never been repeated.

Initially, Dinesh went to two schools in India – Mayo College in Ajmer, Rajasthan, once meant for princes, followed by St Xavier’s School in Delhi.

He writes: “During the holidays at Mayo College, I’d travel to Kabul in Afghanistan where my father was the Indian ambassador.

He became close to the king at the time, Mohammed Zahir Shah. During one of my trips to Kabul, I actually met the Afghan king. He was a very tall man. He had been in power since 1933 and in the early 1960s, around the time of my visits, he introduced a new constitution, with free elections, a parliament, civil rights, women’s rights and voting for all.” But the king was deposed in 1973 after ruling for 40 years and went into exile in Italy.

“I always felt it was a sad story, with two of his cousins usurping power and then allowing the country to fall into ruin.”

His book has a vivid description of the country in pre-Taliban days: “I have such great memories of Afghanistan: going to see the 6th century Bamiyan Buddha statues; driving everywhere in a big car with an Indian flag on the bonnet; all the lavish entertainment at our house, with servants and cooks and chauffeurs. Once we saw a game of buzkashi played in Mazar-i-Sharif, where a goat carcass is pulled along by horsemen who try to throw it into a central spot. It’s a wild, chaotic sport with dozens of players all charging around in the dust.”

INSET Dinesh Dhamija top left Tennis 1st Six at Kings School Canterbury 1968. 31 October 2021 Dinesh Dhamija with his tennis team at King’s School, Canterbury, in 1968.

He finished with his schooling with a couple of years at the King’s School, Canterbury, as a preparation for Cambridge.

“During the holidays from King’s, I’d go to Prague where my father was the Indian ambassador and vividly remember the day in August 1968, when Soviet troops invaded the Czech capital to depose the government of Alexander Dubcek.”

He won a place at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, where he read Oriental Studies in Part 1, followed by Law in Part II. Sumant, meanwhile, read economics at Emmanuel.

As he started at Cambridge, his father told his elder boy to get his priorities right and not let studies get in the way of his tennis: “You must win Wimbledon.”

Dhamija did play tennis and golf at Cambridge, but didn’t get a Blue. In recent years, he has raised money for his old college. “I was on the fundraising board for Fitzwilliam when (former chancellor) Norman Lamont was the chairman. Vince Cable was at Fitzwilliam, too. We raised £20m.”

Having sold ebookers, “I went into the charity sector in the UK and in India.” In India, he started a charity called Chikitsa that gives 120,000 people free medicine through 15 clinics a year. Another Indian charity, Shikha, gives free education to 1,100 street children. In the UK, he was until recently a trustee of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (now renamed the Churchill Fellowship).

He summed up: “I am certainly not one who believes in making money for money’s sake.”

Book It! How Dinesh Dhamija sold travel agency ebookers for £247m is published by Austin Macauley. £9.99

More For You

Iga Swiatek

Swiatek broke early in the match, racing to a 3-0 lead and never allowed the 35th-ranked Bencic to settle. (Photo: Getty Images)

Swiatek cruises past Bencic to set up Wimbledon final with Anisimova

Highlights:

 
     
  • Iga Swiatek storms into her first Wimbledon final with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Belinda Bencic
  •  
  • Swiatek will face Amanda Anisimova, who beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka
  •  
  • Anisimova reaches her first Wimbledon final and will break into the top 10 rankings
  •  
  • Sabalenka exits in the semi-final for the second time, despite a strong 2024 season
  •  
 

IGA SWIATEK reached her first Wimbledon final on Thursday with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 win over Belinda Bencic in just 71 minutes on Centre Court. The 24-year-old, seeded eighth, will face Amanda Anisimova in the final after the American defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set semi-final.

Keep ReadingShow less
Yōtei Limited Edition PS5

The Gold and Black Limited Edition bundles draw inspiration from two iconic Japanese art

PlayStation

Sony reveals Ghost of Yōtei Limited Edition PS5 consoles inspired by Japanese art

Highlights:

  • Sony reveals Ghost of Yōtei Limited Edition PS5 consoles during State of Play.
  • Two designs announced: Gold (global) and Black (PlayStation Direct exclusive).
  • Consoles and controllers inspired by Japanese art styles kintsugi and sumi-e.
  • Both bundles launch on 2 October alongside the game’s release.

Sony unveils striking Ghost of Yōtei Limited Edition PS5 consoles

PlayStation has officially revealed the Ghost of Yōtei Limited Edition PS5 Console Bundles, featuring unique designs that pay tribute to Japanese visual art and the world of Sucker Punch’s upcoming game. The announcement was made during the recent State of Play event, which also showcased an in-depth look at gameplay.

Launching on 2 October 2025, the limited edition bundles will coincide with the release of Ghost of Yōtei, an action-adventure game set in a fictional version of Ezo (modern-day Hokkaido). The bundles include either a gold or black PS5 console, each with its own matching DualSense Wireless Controller and digital copy of the game.

Keep ReadingShow less
Charithra Chandran Wimbledon

Chandran wore lambskin shorts and a green cashmere sweater for her Wimbledon appearance

Instagram/charithra17/Twitter/charithra files

Charithra Chandran brings ‘Bridgerton’ elegance to Wimbledon in timeless Ralph Lauren look

Highlights:

  • Charithra Chandran attended Wimbledon as a Ralph Lauren ambassador, turning heads in a vintage-inspired ensemble.
  • Her look echoed Bridgerton character Edwina Sharma, with soft curls and a classic summer palette.
  • Fans online praised her poise and outfit, with many saying she outshone stars like Andrew Garfield.
  • The actress wore a green cashmere sweater, tailored lambskin shorts and white Nappa pumps.

Charithra Chandran’s Wimbledon appearance might have been behind Hollywood stars Andrew Garfield and Monica Barbaro, but her crisp summer ensemble made sure all eyes found her. Dressed head-to-toe in Ralph Lauren, the British-Indian actress brought understated elegance and old-school charm to Centre Court, and social media took notice.

 Charithra Chandran Wimbledon Charithra Chandran styled her hair in soft curls for the Ralph Lauren outfitInstagram/charithra17/

Keep ReadingShow less
Amazon Prime Day 2025

Running from 8–11 July, the sale is exclusively available to Prime members

iStock

Prime Day 2025 brings huge discounts on electronics including Apple, Samsung, Sony and more

Highlights

  • Amazon Prime Day runs until 11 July, with major savings on electronics
  • Apple AirPods Pro 2, iPad 11th-gen, and MacBook Air M4 hit all-time low prices
  • Samsung Galaxy phones, Sony headphones and Fire TV devices also see deep cuts
  • Prime Day is exclusive to Amazon Prime members, but free trial users can also access deals

Biggest electronics sale of the year

Amazon’s four-day Prime Day 2025 event has delivered a flood of deals on popular electronics, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, headphones and more. Running from 8–11 July, the sale is exclusively available to Prime members, though new users can sign up for a 30-day free trial to access the discounts.

As part of this year’s event, several top-rated products from Apple, Samsung, Sony and Amazon itself have seen some of their lowest-ever prices. According to The Independent’s senior tech critic Alex Lee, “Apple discounts are notoriously rare — but this Prime Day is a clear exception.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian firm acquires Kings Court Hotel for £2.75m

UK-based Nanak Hotels acquired the 60-room Kings Court Hotel in Warwickshire for £2.75 million. (Photo: Colliers International UK)

Asian firm acquires Kings Court Hotel for £2.75m

UK-BASED Nanak Hotels recently acquired the 60-room Kings Court Hotel, a 17th-century property in Warwickshire, England, for £2.75 million. This is the first regional acquisition by the privately held firm led by British Indians Harpreet Singh Saluja and Karamvir Singh.

Nanak Hotels, which operates a UK property portfolio, plans to invest in the property's refurbishment and repositioning, according to a statement from Colliers International UK, which brokered the transaction.

Keep ReadingShow less