Ratan Tata Dies: He became chairman of the $100 billion steel-to-software conglomerate in 1991 and ran the group founded by his great-grandfather over a hundred years ago until 2012.
Cyrus Mistry, who succeeded Ratan Tata as chairman of Tata Sons but was later ousted in India’s most high-profile boardroom coup, died in a car crash in 2022. The bitter feud between the two remained unsolved.
After stepping down, Ratan Tata became chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, Tata Industries, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, and Tata Chemicals.
Long after retirement, Mr Tata remained a popular figure on social media, with heartfelt posts about animal rights (particularly dogs) and appeals to Indian citizens.
Carrying on a tradition dating back to the time of Jamsetji Tata, Ratan Tata ensured that Bombay House, the Tata group’s headquarters, remained a haven for stray dogs.
With over 13 million followers on X and nearly 10 million on Instagram, he was the ‘most followed entrepreneur’ in India, according to the 360 ONE Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2023.
Early Life
Born in 1937, Ratan Tata was raised by his grandmother, Navajbai Tata, after his parents separated in 1948.
He studied architecture at Cornell University and followed it up with a management course at Harvard.
By his own account, the bachelor industrialist came close to getting married on four occasions.
He once admitted that he fell in love while working in Los Angeles. But because of the ongoing 1962 Indo-China War, the girl’s parents refused to let her move to India.
