Who doesn’t know the humble, down-to-earth, extremely generous industrialist Ratan Tata? The youth today got a better insight into the ideologies and principles of this humanity maestro in recent years, thanks to social media. Snippets and quotes from this great man’s life are widely circulated on the internet today, showcasing just a few of his fundamentals on life. Ratan Tata is one of the few rare gems in our world today. Here are some interesting points that cover his early life, initial struggle and his contribution to our country’s growth.
Early Childhood and Education
Naval and Sooni Tata, his parents, welcomed Ratan Tata into the world in 1937. Jamsetji Tata, who established the Tata Group, was his great-grandfather, Ratanji Tata was his grandfather, father of Naval Tata. His parents separated when he was just 10 years old and he was raised by his grandmother, Navajbai Tata. He is tall-statured and possesses striking good looks, thanks to his Persian forebears.
As far as his academics are concerned, he is a scholar par excellence! His initial education was done at the Campion School, Cathedral and Job Connon School in Mumbai. He then went to the Bishop Cotton School in Shimla for his further education. In 1955, he graduated from Riverdale Country School in New York City.
Later, he went to Cornell University to study architecture and structural engineering in 1959. In 1975, he completed his management course at Harvard Business School.
This philanthropist of India never got married. Although he admits that he came close to marrying four times, it never materialized.
Early Career
He obtained his first employment with Tata Steel in 1961. He was given responsibility for running the furnace and moving limestone. He received a job offer from IBM at about the same time, which he turned down. Instead, he joined his family business. He gained experience in several Tata group businesses. A decade later, he replaced his uncle, J.R. D. Tata, as the chairman of the family business.
He took the Tata group to soaring heights and brought international acclaim to the family business. He has realistic and sensible business skills that scaled the Tata Group’s revenue 40 times over. Under the Tata scion’s leadership, the profits sky-rocketed and the company made $103 billion gross profit in 2016.
Mergers and Acquisitions
- In 2000, Tata Group acquired the London-based Tetley Tea for a whopping $431.3 million.
- For $102 million, Tata companies acquired Daewoo Motors’ truck manufacturing business in 2004.
- For $11.3 billion, Tata Steel purchased the massive Anglo-Dutch steel manufacturer Corus Group in 2007. It was the biggest corporate takeover by an Indian company so far.
- In 2008, Tata Group acquired Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Company for $2.3 billion, making it the largest acquisition by an Indian automaker in history.
- In 2009, Tata Automotive firm launched the Tata Nano, a tiny, affordable pod-shaped vehicle with a starting price of 1 lakh INR only. It is a safe, affordable and all-weather proof mode of transport for the average Indian man.
Ratan Tata retired as the chairman of the Tata Group in 2012 but had to serve as interim chairman in 2016 following the dismissal of his successor, Cyrus Mistry. The company appointed a new chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran in 2017 and Ratan Tata returned to his retirement.
Awards and Accolades
His generosity and pragmatic business skills have not gone unnoticed in the world. The deserving man has been awarded many honours and awards during his career. But, his highest honour in 2000 is the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s most distinguished awards. He is also a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan award.
Donations and Charities
Under his direction, the Tata Group established a $28 million scholarship fund at Cornell University to support Indian undergraduate students financially.
In 2010, Ratan Tata endowed a sum of $50 million to Harvard Business School for the construction of an executive centre. It is the same university from where he received his college education. The hall built using his funds is named Tata Hall.
Interesting Tidbits
- Ratan Tata is a trained pilot. In 2007, he piloted the F-16 Falcon.
- He loves dogs. He has always observed the Bombay House, the Tata Sons headquarters, allowing street dogs in during rainy seasons. A shelter for stray dogs is now available at The Bombay House. He has two pet dogs namely Maximum and Tito.
- He was once invited by Prince Charles to Buckingham Palace to receive a lifetime achievement award for philanthropy. But he could not attend the event as his pet dog was sick.
- Had he not given off over 65% of his earnings to charity, he would have been included in the list of billionaires in the world.
- The Tata Group has laid out exceptional plans for the betterment of its employees, including a modern pension system, maternity leaves and medical facilities.
- Following the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the industrialist ensured that the staff of the dysfunctional hotel was reimbursed with their paychecks on time. He even compensated the employees at police stations, market vendors and on the railways.
- He recently visited Pune to visit a sick former employee in January 2021.
- He is a passionate car lover. He owns a fleet of cars like Cadillac XLR, Ferrari California, Honda Civic, Chrysler Sebring, Land Rover Freelander, Mercedes Benz S-Class, Jaguar CFTR, Jaguar F-Type, Maserati Quattroporte and many more.
- Ratan Tata’s millennial friend and now assistant, Shantanu Naidu, 28 years old, is an animal lover just like him. Shantanu has a startup, Motopaws, which Tata supports, that tries to save stray animals from accidents in the dark.
There is a certain grace and dignity about him, which is quite rare to find today. This real ‘Ratan’ of India, although was born with a silver spoon, never took his wealth for granted. Ratan Tata’s life continues to teach us many important lessons. This living legend is an avid philanthropist, inspiration for many, soft, humble and kind Alpha-Male that few can match upto!
