Thread by @BiIndia

#PallonjiMistry, the elusive but powerful phantom of Bombay House

businessinsider.in/thelife/person…

By @KatyaNaidu

Very little is known about #PallonjiMistry who was the chairman emeritus of the Shapoorji Pallonji group – but has been crowned one of the Moghuls of real estate. The unlisted company had built every iconic building of South Mumbai – be it the Taj Colaba or the Oberoi Hotel.

Abroad, the company built the places of #Oman’s king and the President of Ghana. In fact, their ability to build seems to be how they ended up as one of the biggest shareholders of the #TataGroup.

#PallonjiMistry

These #shares in the rapidly expanding #TataGroup are what made #PallonjiMistry a billionaire who is now worth around $28.9 billion, which makes him the 41st richest Indian. Most of his wealth comes from their 18.4% stake in Tata Sons.

bloomberg.com/billionaires/p…

While his own construction company has interests in #India and the Middle East, he also owns the consumer goods company, @EurekaForbes — a name that most of India’s households heard when water purifiers became a thing.

#PallonjiMistry

At one point in time, however, #PallonjiMistry was believed to be India’s richest #Parsi and also counted among the richest Irishmen too. Pallonji had given up his Indian citizenship in 2003 as he was married to an Irish woman, Patsy Perin Dubash.

The reticent #billionaire was also nicknamed The Phantom of Bombay House due to the power he had wielded over the #TataGroup’s headquarters at one point in time – though he was not ever present.

#PallonjiMistry

businessinsider.in/thelife/person…

Coomi Kapoor’s book has an interesting tidbit about #PallonjiMistry. When his father Shapoorji was bankrolling India’s biggest movie production, Mughal-E-Azam, the younger Mistry was nervous about the ballooning budget and advised his father against it.

indianexpress.com/article/books-…

Pallonji’s son Cyrus Mistry seems to have taken a leaf from it. After he became the chairman of the #TataGroup – a similar discord over funding expensive businesses led to the famous Cyrus Mistry-#RatanTata feud which became a long-drawn corporate battles.

#PallonjiMistry