Pallonji Mistry

Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry
Born 1929
Ethnicity Parsi
Citizenship Irish (prev Indian)[1]
Occupation Chairman of Shapoorji Pallonji Group
18.4% stake in Tata Sons
Net worth Increase US$16.3 billion (Mar 2014)[2]
Religion Zoroastrian
Spouse(s) Married
Children 4

Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (born 1929) is an Irish Indian construction tycoon and chairman of Shapoorji Pallonji Group. According to Forbes, his wealth is estimated to be US$9.7 billion as of 2012 making him the wealthiest person of Parsi descent. With his 18.4% stake in Tata Sons,[1] he is the single largest shareholder in India's largest private conglomerate Tata Group. He is also the Chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group through which he owns Shapoorji Pallonji Construction Limited, Forbes Textiles and Eureka Forbes Limited. He is also the former Chairman of Associated Cement Companies. Pallonji gave up his Indian citizenship in 2003 to obtain Irish citizenship, because India does not yet allow dual citizenship. His son Cyrus is chairman of Tata Sons.[3] A short biography of Mistry was written in a 2008 book by Manoj Namburu titled The Moguls of Real Estate.[4]

Personal life and wealth

Mistry's father first bought shares in the Tata Sons in the 1930s, a stake that currently stands at 18.4%. Mistry is the largest single shareholder in Tata Sons, a firm mostly controlled by trusts.[2][5] The Mistrys have a huge construction company, Shapoorji Pallonji. Shapoorji, the group patriarch and Pallonji's father, built some of Mumbai's landmarks around the Fort area – the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, the Grindlays Bank, the Standard Chartered Bank, the State Bank of India and the Reserve Bank of India buildings.[6]

Within the Tata Group he is known as the Phantom of Bombay House for the quiet but assured way he commands power around the south Mumbai headquarters of the Tata empire.[5]

In 2003, he became an Irish citizen "on the basis of his marriage to an Irish born national", Pat (Patsy) Perin Dubash, who was born in September 1939 in Hatch Street Nursing House in Dublin.[7] He gave up his Indian Citizenship as the Indian Government currently does not allow dual citizenship, though he remains resident in Mumbai. He owns a stake in the Taj Mahal Hotel which was attacked by terrorists in 2008. The family's interest in Ireland is compounded by their love of horses. They own a 200 acres (0.81 km2) stud farm in Pune, India. Mistry also owns a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) home in Pune.[8]

He has two sons – Shapoor and Cyrus Pallonji Mistry and two daughters – Laila and Aloo. His son, Shapoor Mistry is married to Behroze Sethna the daughter of lawyer Rusi Sethna. The second son, Cyrus Pallonji Mistry, is married to Rohika Chagla the daughter of lawyer Iqbal Chagla. His daughter, Laila, is married to Rustom Jehangir and his daughter, Aloo, is married to Noel Tata, the half-brother of Ratan Tata. His son-in-law, Noel Tata, is the CEO of the retail arm of the Tata Group. His son, Cyrus Pallonji Mistry succeeded Ratan Tata to become chairman of the $100 billion Tata Group.[9]

Religion

Pallonji Mistry is a Parsi, his religion being Zoroastrianism.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The Phantom Player". business.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Pallonji Mistry". Forbes.com. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Tata successor announced: Cyrus Mistry to succeed Ratan Tata
  4. ↑ "Property Plus Bangalore : Absorbing tales of tycoons". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 15 March 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Cyrus Mistry, a Tata in all but name". Reuters (CNBC-TV18). 23 November 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "Pallonji Mistry is Ireland's richest person". rediff.com. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "Ireland's Rich List 1–10". Irish Independent. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  8. ↑ SUNANDA MEHTA & DEV CHATTERJEE (29 August 2004). "Mistry millionaires". Indian Express. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  9. ↑ Munroe, Tony and Mehra, Prashant UPDATE 2-Global search for Tata chairman ends close to home. Reuters, 23 November 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Who is Cyrus Mistry?". IBN Live. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.

Further reading