Pallonji Mistry
Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 1, 1929 Bombay, India |
| Died | June 28, 2022 (aged 93) Mumbai, India |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, Businessman |
| Known for | Chairman of Shapoorji Pallonji Group; major shareholder in Tata Group |
Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (1 June 1929 – 28 June 2022) was an Irish billionaire entrepreneur of Indian heritage, serving as chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and holding a significant stake in the Tata Group, India's largest private business conglomerate.
Early life
Pallonji was born on 1 June 1929 in Bombay (present-day Mumbai) to Shapoorji Mistry, belonging to the Parsi community. The Mistry family owned the construction firm Shapoorji Pallonji, which was responsible for building prominent Mumbai structures such as the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, Grindlays Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, State Bank of India, and Reserve Bank of India headquarters.
Career
In the 1930s, his father purchased shares in Tata Sons; by 2011, this holding had grown to 18.4%, positioning Pallonji as the largest individual shareholder in Tata Sons, a company predominantly governed by Tata's philanthropic Allied Trusts. He led the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which encompasses Shapoorji Pallonji Construction Limited, Forbes Textiles, and Eureka Forbes Limited. Additionally, he held the chairmanship at Associated Cement Companies.
His son, Cyrus, occupied the role of Tata Sons chairman from 2011 until 2016. Within the Tata Group circles, Pallonji earned the nickname Phantom of Bombay House due to his subtle yet impactful presence at the conglomerate’s Mumbai headquarters.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated Pallonji Mistry’s net worth at around US$30 billion in mid-2021 and approximately US$29 billion at his passing, ranking him as Ireland’s wealthiest billionaire and among the top 150 richest globally.
Personal life and death
In 2003, Pallonji renounced his Indian citizenship and acquired Irish citizenship following his marriage to Pat "Patsy" Perin Dubash, who was born in Ireland. Despite this change, he continued living in Mumbai. The family’s connection to Ireland is partly linked to their equestrian interests; Mistry owned a stud farm along with a residence located in Pune, India.
He was father to four children: two sons and two daughters. His elder son, Shapoor Mistry (born 1964), oversees the Shapoorji Pallonji group’s operations, while his younger son, the late Cyrus Mistry (1968–2022), served as chairman of the Tata group. His daughters include Laila and Aloo; Aloo is married to Noel Tata, who is Ratan Tata’s half-brother.
In January 2016, he was honored with the Padma Bhushan award in recognition of his significant contributions to trade and industry.
A concise profile of Pallonji Mistry was featured in Manoj Namburu’s 2008 publication The Moguls of Real Estate.
Pallonji Mistry passed away in Mumbai on 28 June 2022 at age 93.
Further reading
- Tata family Tree (archived; PDF)
- Pallonji's holding in Tata Sons (archived)
- 1929 births
- 2022 deaths
- Cathedral and John Connon School alumni
- Irish chief executives
- Irish expatriates in India
- Irish people of Indian descent
- Irish Zoroastrians
- Irish billionaires
- Parsi people from Mumbai
- Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in trade and industry
- Naturalised citizens of Ireland
- Parsi people
- Mistry family
- Shapoorji Pallonji Group
- Gujarati businesspeople
- Businesspeople from Gujarat
- People with Overseas Citizenship of India