Billionaire businessman and Shapoorji Pallonji Group chief Pallonji Mistry passed away at his residence here. Company officials gave this information on Tuesday. He was 93 years old. Mistry’s SP Group is the largest shareholder of the Tata group with 18.4 per cent stake. He died during his sleep at his residence in south Mumbai after midnight on Tuesday, officials said. He acquired Irish citizenship.
Paying tribute to him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he was saddened by the demise of Pallonji. Modi said, “He has made a significant contribution to the world of commerce and industry.” Mistry was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award, in 2016. Union Minister Smriti Irani described Mistry’s death as the end of an era. Other ministers including Nitin Gadkari, Mansukh Mandaviya, Hardeep Singh Puri and Karnataka Chief Minister BS Bommai have also condoled his death.
Mistry was born in 1929. He headed the SP group worth more than USD 5 billion. The group started with the construction business and later expanded to the real estate business, textiles, ‘shipping’ and manufacturing of home appliances. He is survived by four children including Cyrus Mistry. Cyrus Mistry replaced Ratan Tata as the chairman of the Tata Group. However, he was dropped by the board in 2016. Financially, the last few years have been tough for the SP Group and it had to raise funds by pledging the Tata Group shares.