🔗 Indian entrepreneur, industrialist, and philanthropist, Ratan Tata, dead at 86

🔗 Biography 🔗 Business 🔗 New York (state) 🔗 India 🔗 New York (state)/Cornell University 🔗 Zoroastrianism 🔗 India/Mumbai 🔗 India/Maharashtra

Ratan Tata (28 December 1937 – 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist who served as chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1990 to 2012, and then as interim chairman from October 2016 through February 2017. In 2008, he received the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour in India. Ratan had previously received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour, in 2000. He passed away on October 9, 2024, following a prolonged illness related to his age.

Ratan Tata was the son of Naval Tata, who was adopted by Ratanji Tata. Ratanji Tata was the son of Jamshedji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group. He graduated from the Cornell University College of Architecture with a bachelor's degree in architecture. He joined Tata in 1961, where he worked on the shop floor of Tata Steel. He later succeeded J. R. D. Tata as chairman of Tata Sons upon the latter's retirement in 1991. During his tenure, the Tata Group acquired Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover, and Corus, in an attempt to turn Tata from a largely India-centric group into a global business. Tata was also a philanthropist.

Tata was a prolific investor and invested in over 30 start-ups, most in a personal capacity and some via his investment company.