Pallonji Mistry

Occupation Industrialist
Children Shapoor Mistry, Cyrus Mistry
Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry is an Indian entrepreneur and construction tycoon. Wit
h his 18.5% stake in Tata Sons, he is the single largest shareholder in India's
largest private conglomerate Tata Group. He is also the Chairman of the Shapoorj
i Pallonji Group through which he owns Shapoorji Pallonji Construction Limited,
Forbes & Company Ltd. and Eureka Forbes Limited. He is also the former Chairman
of Associated Cement Companies. In 2007, Forbes estimated his total fortune to b
e worth US$ 5.9 billion.[1] Pallonji gave up his Indian citizenship in 2007 to a
dopt Irish citizenship, making him the second richest Irish national in the worl
d, behind Sean Quinn.[2]
Nicknamed by his colleagues in Tata Group as the Phantom of Bombay House, Pallon
ji, despite being one of the most successful businessmen in India, is known for
his media-shyness and rarely appears in public. A short biography of Mistry was
written in a 2008 book by Manoj Namburu titled The Moguls of Real Estate.[3]
Business Empire
Relationship with Tata Group
His association with the Tata Group is over half a century old and yet nowhere i
n the history of the Tata Group is the Mistry family mentioned by name. The Grou
p's largest stakeholder Pallonji Mistry's father Shapoorji, muscled his way into
Tata Sons by buying out solicitor FE Dinshaw's estate which was equal to 12.5%
of Tata Sons. When J.R.D. Tata took over, Shapoorji took advantage of the Group'
s uncertainty and bought out other Tata family members - increasing his stake to
16.5%.
Underplaying any negativity between the Tata family and the Mistry family, Pallo
nji told CNBC-TV18, "There have always been very cordial relationship between th
e Mistry family and the Tatas. I would just say that. There has always been a ve
ry close relationship - both with the present generation and with the past gener
ation." But that all-important stake in the Tata Group does give him enormous le
verage. When asked if his sons wanted to be on Tata's board, he deflected the qu
estion by saying "that question should be answered by Mr. Tata, not by me." This
question was ultimately answered when his younger son Cyrus Mistry joined the T
ata Sons board in September 2006.
Today, Pallonji owns 18.35% of Tata Sons, while Ratan Tata himself owns less tha
n a per cent. When TCS went public, Pallonji was the biggest beneficiary, nettin
g more than even the Tata companies. In 2007 Forbes estimated his net worth to b
e $5.6 billion.[1] But ask senior Tata executives who've spent a lifetime in the
Group and very few know the enigmatic person. Considering his stake and credent
ials, has he ever been tempted to take more of a proactive stance? He reiterated
, "God alone will decide it. As I said I am very happy in the way it is. I am ve
ry happy in the way the Tata companies are being run. I am very happy with the s
ituation and God alone knows what the future holds."
But he's expanded the family business to build great quality buildings in the Mi
ddle East and he took this call years ago, before the competition got wise to th
e act. Now his firm has moved on to road construction as well. He elaborated, "T
his is what my initiative was because I've always wanted to do something that sh
ould leave a mark in my family. Also since that day on, we have never looked bac
k. We have been from Muscat to Dubai, Dubai to Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi to Qatar and
finally only less than a month ago now, we have been given a contract to build
a stadium in Guyana, South America."
Personal life and wealth
In spite of being one of the richest Indians and Chairman of the Shapoorji Pallo
nji Group, Pallonji Mistry is a man who rarely appears in public and is often de
scribed as being media shy. His employees call him the man with no faults, his f
riends describe him as humble and within the Tata Group he is known as the Phant
om of Bombay House.
In 2007, he gave up his Indian citizenship to become an Irish citizen.[4] His so
n-in-law Noel Tata is the CEO of the retail arm of the Tata Group. Noel Tata is
also the half-brother of Ratan Tata.