Pallonji Mistry Biography – An Indian-born Irish billionaire construction tycoon
Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry was an Indian-born Irish billionaire construction tycoon and chairman of Shapoorji Pallonji Group who is the richest Irish person. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his wealth is estimated to be US$28.0 billion as of 9 April 2021.
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| Real Name: | Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry |
| Profession: | Construction Tycoon |
| Birthplace: | India |
| Spouse: | Patsy Perin Dubash |
| Age: | 93 years |
Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (1 June 1929 – 28 June 2022) was an Indian-born Irish billionaire construction tycoon and chairman of Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the richest Irish person. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his wealth is estimated to be US$28.0 billion as of 9 April 2021. With his 18.4% stake in Tata Sons, he is the largest individual shareholder in India’s largest private conglomerate, Tata Group, the primary shareholder of which is the Tata philanthropic Allied Trusts, with 66 percent controlling interest.
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Pallonji Mistry Biography
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| Born | June 1, 1929 |
| Died | June 28, 2022 (aged 93) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Citizenship | Irish (previously Indian) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | 17.3% stake in Tata Sons |
| Title | Chairman, Shapoorji Pallonji Group |
| Spouse(s) | Patsy Perin Dubash |
| Children | 4, including Cyrus Mistry |
| Relatives | Noel Tata (son-in-law) |
Table of Contents
Early life
Pallonji Mistry was born on 1 June 1929 in a Parsi family from Gujarat.
The Mistrys own a substantial 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.
Career
His father first bought shares in Tata Sons in the 1930s, a stake that currently stands at 18.4% making Mistry the largest individual shareholder in Tata Sons, which is primarily controlled by the charitable Tata Trusts.
Pallonji Mistry is the chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group through which he owns Shapoorji Pallonji Construction Limited, Forbes Textiles, and Eureka Forbes Limited.
He is the former chairman of Associated Cement Companies.
His son, Cyrus, was chairman of Tata Sons from November 2011 to October 2016. Within the Tata Group, he is known as the Phantom of Bombay House for the quiet but assured way he commands power around the Mumbai headquarters of the Tata empire.
Bloomberg estimated his worth to be about US$30 Billion in mid-2021.
Accolades
A short biography of Mistry was written in a 2008 book by Manoj Namburu titled The Moguls of Real Estate.
He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in January 2016 by the Government of India for his contributions in the field of trade and industry.
Personal life and death
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. He remains in residence in Mumbai. The family’s interest in Ireland is ascribed, in part, to their love of horses; Mistry owns a 200 acres (0.81 km2) stud farm and a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) home in Pune, India.
Mistry has two sons and two daughters. His elder son, Shapoor Mistry (b. 1964), runs the Shapoorji Pallonji group, while his younger son, Cyrus Mistry, 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. Mistry died in Mumbai on 28 June 2022 at the age of 93.
