About Pallonji Mistry
Pallonji Mistry is 90 years old Irish-Indian billionaire who holds the chairmanship of Shapoorji Pallonji Group with a list of other subsidiaries that fall under the conglomerate. The company he holds has a history of building some iconic structures like Bombay Stock Exchange building, Reserve Bank of India buildings, the Taj Mahal Hotels, Palace of the Sultan of Oman in Oman and many more. He at present is the 2nd richest person in India with 18.4% stake in Tata Sons.
Early Life
Pallonji was born in year 1929 as Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry to a Parsi family. The family had the origin roots from Persia having believed to be migrated from there to Gujarat, India. He attended Cathedral & John Connon School and the Imperial College London to receive his education. He inherited family construction business, Shapoorji Pallonji which was started by his father and which further led to construction of various landmarks in Mumbai around the Fort area. The company also included the buildings of the Standard Chartered Bank, the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank,
the State Bank of India, the Reserve Bank of India and the Grindlays Bank. He now holds the Irish citizenship since 2003 after deciding to give up his Indian citizenship on basis of his marriage to an Irish- born national.
Career
He started his career with family business by assisting his father in the real estate business under Shapoorji Pallonji Group. He then became the chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group further holding the ownership of Forbes Textiles, Eureka Forbes Limited and Shapoorji Pallonji Construction Limited. During his chairmanship, the company built the Malabar Hill reservoir in Mumbai and soon became the country’s leading construction firm with revenue of over $2 billion. In 1930s his father bought shares in Tata Sons which at present stands at 18.4% making him the individual largest shareholder in Tata Group. He also became the chairman of Associated Cement Companies on the basis of his simply and primary policy in business. He now spends a significant amount of time in Pune where the family has a 200-acre stud farm.
Achievements
He has received Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India in January 2016 for his remarkable contribution in the field of trade and industry.
Personal Life
He is married to Patsy Perin Dubash and is father of 4 children; Cyrus, Aloo, Shapoor and Laila Mistry. He presently resides in Mumbai and holds the power of commands around the Mumbai headquarters of the Tata empire.
Net Worth
It is estimated to be around US$20.1 billion as on January 2019.