Entrepreneur Stories
Ratan Tata Unknown Facts
Chairman emeritus of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata is arguably one of the most successful people of India. During his 21 year career, he transformed Tata Group from a national brand to an international brand with his impeccable business skills.
Here is a list of some lesser known facts about the 81 year old industrialist:
1) Though he was born in an affluent household, Ratan Tata had a troubled childhood. His parents, Naval Hormusji Tata and Sooni Tata, separated when he was just 7 years old. Post the separation, his brother and he were raised by their grandmother.
2) Ratan Tata has a degree in architecture from Cornell University and he even pursued an advanced management program from Harvard Business School.
3) When Ratan Tata first started his career at Tata Steel, his job was to manage the blast furnace and shovel limestone. It was only in 1991 he became the Chairperson.
4) Ratan Tata is an avid car lover and does not refrain himself from spending on cars. His car collection includes Maserati Quattroporte, Chrysler Sebring, Ferrari California, Mercedes Benz S-Class and Jaguar F-Type.
5) Not many people know Ratan Tata is a trained pilot. He owns a pilot’s license and is often seen flying aircrafts owned by the Tata Group. He was also the first Indian to fly the F-16 Falcon in 2007.
6) In 1999, Ratan Tata and his team went to Ford to sell their emerging car business and were humiliated by Bill Ford who said, “You do not know anything, why did you start the passenger car division at all.” Nine years later, Ratan Tata got his sweet revenge when he took over Ford’s ace car brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, for half the price.
7) Ratan Tata received the third and second highest civilian awards, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan in 2000 and 2008 respectively. In 2009, the United Kingdom honoured him with the Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
8) Ratan Tata is not included in the world’s richest as he owns most of his shares through trusts and foundations. If all those shares are accounted, his net worth would be $ 72 billion.
9) By his own admission, Ratan Tata came close to marriage 4 times in his life, but backed off each time either due to fear or another reason.
10) Ratan Tata donates millions to education every year. One particular year, he donated $ 50 million to Harvard University and $25 million to Cornell University, especially for the Indian students studying at the two universities.
Fighting all the hurdles that came his way, today Ratan Tata is the king of the corporate world. Thank you, Mr. Tata, for being an inspiration to an entire Nation.
Comment below and let us know which of these facts surprised you the most.
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