He is the youngest son of Lakshmi and Indoo Shivdasani (1918-1979), an Indian businessman who made his fortune trading in Nigeria, with his offices based in London and Geneva.

His father studied at Clare College, Cambridge and built a business in finance, trade and agro-allied industries in West Africa, India and Europe.

[1][4][5] His older sister Bina Shivdasani, Countess Sella di Monteluce (1949–2006), was a philanthropist in women's education and was the first High Sheriff of Greater London of Asian origin in 2002.

They also started the Evason group of hotels and the Six Senses Resorts & Spas, with properties opening across South East Asia and Europe.

[8] In 2012, Sonu sold Six Senses to Pegasus Capital and shifted to focus on Soneva's resorts and private residences as part of the "One Owner, One Operator, One Philosophy, One Brand".

[16] He was honored as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by King Charles III for his contributions to "tourism, sustainability and charity" in the 2023 New Year Honours.

Records show that the Shivdasanis obtained the Maldives island of Medhufaru and its surroundings, now the location of their Soneva Jani resort, via a no-bid contract in 2014.

[18] The allegations against Soneva were later dropped as the processes through which Medhufaru Island and its surroundings were acquired in 2014 were in strict compliance with the legal frameworks and regulations of the Maldives.

The Swiss businessman Jean Sebastian Ferrer Funke and his company Ecoprivate Business Ltd. alleged that Sonu Shivdasani deceived them into investing in a $6.2 million villa in Thailand and thus filed an ex parte petition for a federal court order to obtain evidence from KSL Capital Partners, a Denver-based private equity firm specializing in travel and leisure enterprises, which participated in a $230 million investment in Sonashah Shivdasani’s Soneva Kiri Resort.

Shivdasani was accused of running a scheme that used Bluebay as a vehicle to fraudulently induce Ferrer and Ecoprivate to purchase a Thai villa and surrounding land at the Soneva Kiri Resort for $6.2 million.