Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (1 June 1929 – 28 June 2022) was an Indian-born Irish billionaire construction tycoon. He was chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and a major shareholder of India's largest private conglomerate, Tata Group.
Early life
Pallonji Mistry was born to Shapoorji Mistry in Bombay (now Mumbai) on 1 June 1929.[2] He was a member of Parsi community in Bombay.[3]
His father first bought shares in Tata Sons in the 1930s, a stake that as of 2011 stood at 18.4%, making Mistry the largest individual shareholder in Tata Sons,[1] which is primarily controlled by the Tata philanthropic Allied Trusts,[5][6] and the largest individual shareholder in India's largest private conglomerate, Tata Group, the primary shareholder being the charitable Tata Trusts.[7]
His son, Cyrus, was chairman of Tata Sons from November 2011 to October 2016.[9][10] Within the Tata Group, he is known as the Phantom of Bombay House for the quiet but assured way he commanded power around the Mumbai headquarters of the Tata empire.[6]
According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Pallonji Mistry's wealth was estimated to be about US$30 Billion in mid-2021.[11] and US$29 billion at the time of his death. He was the richest Irish billionaire at the time of his death,[4] and the world's 143 richest person.[8]
In 2003, Pallonji gave up his Indian citizenship to become an Irish citizen "on the basis of his marriage to an Irish-born national", Pat "Patsy" Perin Dubash, who was born in September 1939 at Hatch Street Nursing House in Dublin.[13] He remained in residence in Mumbai. The family's interest in Ireland is ascribed, in part, to their love of horses; Mistry owned a 200 acres (0.81 km2) stud farm and a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) home in Pune, India.[14]
Mistry has two sons and two daughters. His elder son, Shapoor Mistry (b. 1964), runs the Shapoorji Pallonji group, while his younger son, the late Cyrus Mistry (1968—2022), served for some years as chairman of the Tata group. Mistry's elder daughter is Laila and his younger daughter, Aloo, is married to Noel Tata, half-brother of Ratan Tata.[15][16]
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in January 2016 by the Government of India for his contributions in the field of trade and industry.[12]
A short biography of Mistry was written in a 2008 book by Manoj Namburu titled The Moguls of Real Estate.[17]
Mistry died in Mumbai on 28 June 2022 at the age of 93.[18][19]
References
^ abSubramaniam, Kandula (22 January 2011). "The Phantom Player". Outlook Business India. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
^"Cyrus Mistry". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 28 June 2022. The Mistrys were members of Mumbai's Parsi community, followers of the Zoroastrian religion who had grown prosperous as merchants and industrialists since the earliest colonial times.
