Meet Pallonji Mistry, India’s oldest billionaire who lost $2.8 billion in a year

He started his construction company, Shapoorji Pallonji, in 1865 and turned it into a multibillion conglomerate with an annual revenue of $3.8 billion.

The Shapoorji Pallonji group is famous for constructing iconic buildings including Taj Intercontinental Hotel, the Reserve Bank of India building and the HSBC building. The group also constructed the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Delhi.

The group constitute Afcons, SPCL, SP International, Sterling & Wilson, SP Real Estate and consumer goods maker Eureka Forbes. But Shapoorji Pallonji Group has only three listed companies :Forbes & Company Ltd. , Gokak Textiles and Sterling & Wilson

Now a days both his two sons run the group. His eldest son Shapoorji Pallonji is the chairman of Shapoorji Pallonji & Company. While his younger son Cyrus Mistry is the director on the board of Shapoorji Pallonji and Co, Forbes Gokak and United Motors (India) among others.

Net worth (2017): $14.3 billion

At present, most of his fortune comes from 18.5% stake in Tata Sons, an Indian conglomerate with an annual revenue of about $100 billion. Pallonji Mistry inherited the stake from his father names Shapoorji Mistry as a legacy

He holds the largest individual stake in Tata Sons. Shapoorji Pallonji group is associated with Tata Group since 1936 when Pallonji Mistry’s father bought 17.5% stake in Tata Sons and till date, Mistry family remains its biggest shareholder in Tata sons.

The two wealthiest families of India — Tatas and Mistrys — share a soured relationship after Cyrus Mistry was sacked from Tata Sons in 2016. Mistrys filed numerous lawsuits against the group alleging corporate governance failure.

Tata Sons recently restricted Mistry from transferring his shares to someone else. But his business is turning in a profit, regardless.

Credit: Bloomberg