New Delhi. Ratan Tata was one of the most influential industrialists in the world, yet he never appeared in any list of billionaires. He owned more than 30 companies that were spread across more than 100 countries on six continents, yet he lived a simple life. Ratan Naval Tata died on Wednesday night at the age of 86 in a hospital in Mumbai.
Tata was a corporate giant with a simple personality, who had created a different kind of image on the basis of his decency and honesty. Ratan Tata received a BS in Architecture from Cornell University, New York in 1962. After completing his degree, he joined the family company.
He initially worked in a company and gained experience in several businesses of the Tata Group, after which in 1971 he was appointed Director in-charge of ‘National Radio and Electronics Company’ (a group firm). A decade later, he became the chairman of Tata Industries and in 1991 took over as chairman of the Tata Group from his uncle JRD Tata. JRD Tata was in this post for more than five decades.
This was the year India opened up its economy and the Tata Group, which had started as a small textile and trading firm in 1868, quickly transformed itself into a ‘global superpower’ with operations ranging from salt to steel, cars, It had spread to software, power plants and airlines.
Ratan Tata was the chairman of the group’s main holding company ‘Tata Sons’ for more than two decades, during which the group expanded rapidly, purchasing London-based Tetley Tea for US$431.3 million in 2000 and South Korea in 2004. bought the truck-manufacturing operations of Daewoo Motors for US$102 million, bought Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group for US$11 billion, and bought the famous British car brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Company for US$2.3 billion. .
Along with being one of India’s most successful businessmen, he was also known for his philanthropic activities. His personal involvement in philanthropy began very early. In the 1970s, he initiated the Aga Khan Hospital and Medical College Project, which laid the foundation of one of India’s premier healthcare institutions.
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FIRST PUBLISHED: October 10, 2024, 04:36 IST