Pallonji Mistry, the man who built Mumbai's iconic Taj Mahal Palace ahead of schedule, and his life

Billionaire philanthropist Pallonji Mistry, who was the chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, passed away in Mumbai at his residence late last night. He was 93.

The business tycoon headed a conglomerate that is involved in engineering, construction, infrastructure, real estate, water, energy and financial services and has an employee base of over 50,000 people across 50 nations.

Born in 1929, Mistry attended Mumbai’s Cathedral & John Cannon School before heading to London’s Imperial College for higher education. After his graduation in civil engineering from England, Mistry returned to India and took over the business in 1954.

The SP Group has constructed some of Mumbai's landmark buildings, including the buildings for the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, the Grindlays Bank, the Standard Chartered Bank, the State Bank of India and the Reserve Bank of India headquarters.

But one of Mistry's biggest projects was Mumbai's iconic Taj Mahal Palace, notably constructed ahead of schedule and under budget.

But it is Mistry's 18.4 percent stake in Tata Sons that is the family's biggest asset. The stake had put Mistry as the largest individual shareholder in the business house. His daughter Aloo is married to Noel Tata, half-brother of former Tata group chairman Ratan Tata.

As per a Business Standard report, Tata group old-timers recall how Pallonji’s father built steel and automobile factories for the Tatas and, in return, received a 12 percent stake in Tata Sons in 1930 because the Tatas had no money to pay at that point of time.

But the two families had a falling out after Mistry's son Cyrus was removed as the Chairman of Tata Sons in 2016. The saga only ended in 2021 in a legal victory for Ratan Tata at the Supreme Court. As a result, the Mistrys decided to dilute their holdings in Tata Sons.

Despite living in Mumbai, Mistry had taken up Irish citizenship in 2003 after his marriage to Patsy Perin Dubash, an Irish national.

With his net worth of $28.9 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index, Mistry was one of the richest men on the planet and the richest Irish national. If counted through his place of residence, Mistry would have been one of the 10 richest billionaires in India.

Despite his immense wealth, Mistry remained mostly reclusive and private, earning him the title 'Phantom of Bombay House'. He had divided his assets between his two sons, Shapoorji and Cyrus.

Mistry was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contributions in the field of trade and industry.