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 <keyword id="630348" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Taj-Mansingh-hotel">Taj Mansingh Hotel</keyword> situated in <keyword id="6442584" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="lutyens-delhi">Lutyens Delhi</keyword> towards the southwest of<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=india+gate&amp;sortorder=effectivedate"> India Gate</a> is one of the rare examples of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=mughal+architecture&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Mughal architecture</a> in the city. Constructed entirely out of pink Dholpur sandstone and set amidst a garden, Taj Mansingh is an epitome of luxury and indulgence and while a lot of people dream of actually living in this five-star property, one man actually made that very wish come true- that too for 37 years. 
 Meet <keyword id="2354145" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dadi-Balsara">Dadi Balsara</keyword>, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=parsi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Parsi</a> businessman who had lived in Taj Mansingh Hotel for a whopping 36 years- becoming Taj Mansingh Hotel’s long-standing guest until he passed away in 2014 at the age of 71. 
 
Balsara and his wife Christina Stone (who passed away in 2009) both made the Room no 901, one of Taj Mansingh’s luxury suite their home and lived and loved the hotel as his own. The couple had no children. 
 
According to hotel sources, Balsara never felt the need of buying a house in the city as he considered Taj Mansingh as his home and the hotel staff his extended family. He not only knew the hotel like the palm of his hand, but was also incredibly close to the staff. In the course of his 36-year-long stay, he had grown close to a valet who was considered more of Balsara’s personal aide, rather than a hotel staffer. 
 
He was also the first member of the Taj InnerCircle loyalty programme. The hotel staff also talked of how co-operative Balsara was. 
 

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“Whenever we would have a VIP guest- such as the Prime Minister or President of some country staying with us, who wanted the floor to be cleared- we would inform of him of the same and he would promptly comply with their wishes and would return only when the guest had left the hotel.” 
 Infact, it was Balsara who had set up the largest natural mineral water plant in Dhaula Kaun in Himachal Pradesh in with an investment of $20 million and created the niche Himayalan mineral water brand. Manufactured by his <keyword id="3543750" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="mount-everest-mineral-water-limited">Mount Everest Mineral Water Limited</keyword>, he ensured that Himayalan stands out in the highly competitive bottled water segment in the country. 
 
And, as luck would have it, taking his association with the hospitality brand one step closer, he sold off his priced asset, the Himalayan brand to none other than the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=tata+group&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Tata Group</a> in 2007. This marked Tata Global Beverages foray into the Indian packaged water segment. 
 
Contrary to popular belief, Balsara was not born a billionaire. He was born into a family of modest means and began his career as an LIC officer in Nagpur, earning a meager salary of Rs 600. He later went on to the US to study psychiatry on a scholarship and started his own practice after obtaining a doctorate. 
 
Unfortunately, he was forced to look at other career options when his practice failed as hardly anyone turned up for a consultation. 
His big break came when a Japanese television channel decided to host his ‘holistic lifestyle’ programmes which as time passed became a roaring success and finally money started to roll in. 
 
It was only uphill from there. Balsara later settle in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=singapore&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Singapore</a> where he earned the title of ‘Perfumes king of Asia’ by selling perfumes. In 1991 he decided to come back to India and settled in Delhi. 
 
With a business empire spread across 63 countries, Balsara was one of the richest NRI at the time of his death. He reportedly had Rs 250 crore in his bank account.

The curious story of Dadi Balsara, the Parsi billionaire who stayed
at Taj Mansingh Hotel for 36 years

<ul><li>Pallonji was once believed to be India’s richest Parsi and probably one of the richest Irishmen too. </li><li>He was nicknamed The Phantom of <keyword id="275791" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bombay-house" source="Orion">Bombay House</keyword> as he wielded a lot of power at the <keyword id="6355725" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-group" source="Orion">Tata Group</keyword>’s headquarters at one point in time. </li><li>When Pallonji’s father Shapoorji was bankrolling Mughal-E-Azam, the younger Mistry was nervous about the ballooning budget, and advised his father against it.</li></ul>Very little is known about <keyword id="6689214" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pallonji-mistry" source="Orion">Pallonji Mistry</keyword> who was the chairman emeritus of the <keyword id="261354" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shapoorji-pallonji-group" source="Orion">Shapoorji Pallonji group</keyword> – but has been crowned one of the Moghuls of real estate. And why not? 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 Tata Group. They had started accumulating shares during Pallonji Mistry’s father’s time when Shapoorji Pallonjigroup was building factories for Tata Steel and Tata Motors – and were paid for, in shares. The <keyword id="14307253" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="richest-irishman" source="Orion">richest Irishman</keyword>, the richest Parsi These shares in the rapidly expanding group are what made Pallonji a billionaire who is now worth around $28.9 billion according to<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/pallonji-mistry/#xj4y7vzkg"> the Bloomberg Billionaires index</a>, which makes him the 41st richest Indian. Most of his wealth comes from their 18.4% stake in Tata Sons – which they have decided to offload following a feud. While his own construction company has interests in India and the Middle East, he also owns the consumer goods company, Eureka Forbes — a name that most of India’s households heard when water purifiers became a thing. At one point in time, however, Pallonji 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. He however continued to reside at his sea-facing bungalow in the uptown Walkeshwar area of Mumbai. The Phantom of Bombay House The reticent billionaire was also nicknamed The Phantom of Bombay House due to the power he had wielded over the Tata Group’s headquarters at one point in time – though he was not ever present. However, all his friends – be it Adi Godrej, the chairman of the Godrej Group, Deepak Parekh, the chairman of HDFC and others know him as a warm and caring person and a good host. But only a select few people have the privilege of knowing him. Coomi Kapoor’s book ‘<a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/how-shapoorji-pallonji-jr-built-his-construction-empire-and-why-khojeste-mistree-is-a-religious-pop-star-among-the-parsis-7431872/">The Tatas, Freddie Mercury &amp; Other Bawas</a>' however has an interesting tidbit about him. When Pallonji’s father Shapoorji was bankrolling India’s biggest movie production, Mughal-E-Azam, the younger Mistry was nervous about the ballooning budget of the movie and the fact that it was being reshot. He tried to talk his father out of the ‘dead investments’, but the senior did not listen. However, the movie crashed all box office records of time – paying off his father’s penchant for perfection. Pallonji’s son Cyrus Mistry seems to have taken a leaf from it. After he became the chairman of the Tata Group – a similar discord over funding expensive businesses is what led to the famous Cyrus Mistry-Ratan Tata feud – which became one of India’s long-drawn corporate battles — leading to their decision to sell off their interest in Tata Sons, that’s been held for decades. With Pallonji’s death,<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/cyrus-mistrys-father-pallonji-mistry-passes-away-at-93/articleshow/92509875.cms"> the phantom of Bombay House ha</a>s now literally exited the building and the business. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/cyrus-mistrys-father-pallonji-mistry-passes-away-at-93/articleshow/92509875.cms" style="">Cyrus Mistry's father, Pallonji Mistry passes away at 93</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/four-of-every-10-fiis-are-from-the-us-most-others-are-from-tax-havens/slidelist/92510427.cms" style="">Four of every 10 FIIs are from the US; most others are from tax havens</a>

You Searched For "Parsi billionaire" and got 2 results

The curious story of Dadi Balsara, the Parsi billionaire who stayed at Taj Mansingh Hotel for 36 years

Poulomi Das

Pallonji Mistry, the elusive but powerful phantom of Bombay House

Katya Naidu

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