25 Lesser-Known Facts About Ratan Tata That Will Make You Respect Him More

Ratan Tata is perhaps one of the most famous, affluent, and well-established entrepreneurs in India whose name is heard worldwide. Not only is he rich and successful but also a great philanthropist who created employment opportunities and helped with the upliftment of the citizens.

He was awarded India’s highest prestigious awards, Padma Vibhushan, and Padma Bhushan which indeed speaks about the enormous contributions he made to the country. He is the mastermind behind some historic contracts the Indian company Tata Motors made with a few internationally established companies like Ford Motors. Not only that, he was the one to take back Air India and save the government airline from getting bankrupt and he now owns a 100% stake in that company.

You may not find him on the list of rich people or billionaire entrepreneurs because most of the profit he makes, is given away to charity. Well, that just shows how kind and generous a person he is.

Take a look at some interesting facts about Ratan Tata:

1. Ratan Tata’s birthplace

Ratan Naval Tata’s birthday is on 28th December 1937 and his age is 84 years as of today. He was born in Bombay (now, Mumbai).

2. Family history

Ratan Tata’s father was Naval Tata, who was adopted by Ratanji Tata, the son of the founder of the Tata group, Jamsetji Tata.

Naval Tata was considered to be genetically linked to the Tata family and this is because it is said that his biological maternal grandmother was the sister of Hirabai Tata, Jamshedji Tata’s spouse, and his biological grandfather Hormusji Tata was a member of the extended Tata family.

3. He was raised by his grandmother

Ratan Tata is the great-grandson of Jamsetji Tata, Tata Group’s founder. His mother’s name was Sooni Tata and he was raised by his grandmother, Navajbai Tata as his parents got separated in 1948 when he was just 10. He also has a brother Noel Tata.

4. A very bright student

Ratan Tata attended the Campion School in Mumbai till the eighth grade, after which he attended the Cathedral and John Connon Schools in Mumbai, as well as the Bishop Cotton School in Shimla.

In 1955, he graduated from New York City’s Riverdale Country School. In 1959, Tata enrolled at Cornell University to pursue a degree in architecture and structural engineering.
Later, in 1975, he attended Harvard Business School for a management program.

5. First job and his involvement with the company

Tata Steel was Ratan Tata’s first job. His first responsibility was to manage the blast furnace and dump limestone. Ratan Tata began his career as part of the Tata group. When IBM offered Ratan Tata a job, he turned it down. Instead, he embraced his family’s business by working at the Tata Steel factory.

6. Ratan Tata was said to be the wrong choice

When he was considered a wrong pick after taking over his father’s footsteps. He said,

“JRD got clubbed with nepotism and I was branded as the wrong choice but i proved myself”

22. Ratan Tata love story

According to his interview with Humans of Bombay, he once revealed there was a moment when he fell in love while he was working in LA. Though he wanted to settle and was about to get married it did not happen eventually, one of the reasons he stated was the Indo-China war of 1962. He had to return to India but the parents of the girl were not in favor of sending her to the country.

8. His contributions to colleges and educational institutions

Tata group enterprises and Tata charities gave $50 million for the development of Tata Hall, an elite facility at Harvard Business School (HBS), where he obtained his management degree.

In 2014, the Tata company contributed Rs 95 crore to the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and established the Tata Center for Technology and Design (TCTD), which aims to promote design and engineering concepts that are appropriate for individuals and communities with minimal resources. It is thought to be the institute’s biggest gift in its antiquity.

9. His amazing leadership skills which took the company to new heights and created history

In 1991, he was appointed as the Chairman of the Tata Group, and he led the corporation to unprecedented heights and worldwide prominence. All of this was made possible for his commercial understanding.

10. Increase in revenue

The Tata Group’s revenues increased more than 40 times under his strong management. Profits were multiplied by more than 50. In 2016, the corporation that only made $5.7 billion in 1991 made around $103 billion.

11. Global expansion

Ratan Tata merged Land Rover Jaguar with Tata Motors, Tetley with Tata Tea, and Corus with Tata Steel, all of which were significant acquisitions for his company.

All of these partnerships contributed greatly to the Tata Group’s incredible expansion. They created history because it is not easy for an Indian company to crack such a terrific deal and syndicate its contributions worldwide.

12. His idea of Tata Nano

In 2009, the company delivered a car (Tata Nano) worth Rs. 1 Lakh so that people with limited finances can also afford a car. He shared his idea of Nano in an Instagram post,

“What really motivated me, and sparked a desire to produce such a vehicle, was constantly seeing Indian families on scooters, maybe the child sandwiched between the mother and father, riding to wherever they were going, often on slippery roads. One of the benefits of being in the School of Architecture, it had taught me to doodle when I was free. At first we were trying to figure out how to make two wheelers safer, the doodles became four wheels, no windows, no doors, just a basic dune buggy. But I finally decided it should be a car. The Nano, was always meant for all our people.”

13. He holds the license of being a skilled pilot

He was perhaps the first Indian pilot who took a ride on the F-16 Falcon back in the year 2007. And he is a very skilled pilot who loves flying.

14. He is an avid car lover

The industrialist is known for his ardent devotion to automobiles. He reportedly owns a wide range of vehicles, including some top-notch cars which add up to his car collections, Ferrari California, Cadillac XLR, Land Rover Freelander, Chrysler Sebring, Honda Civic, Mercedes Benz S-Class, Maserati Quattroporte, Mercedes Benz 500 SL, Jaguar F-Type, Jaguar CFTR, and many others.

15. His love for dogs

Since the days of Jamsetji Tata, the Bombay House, the Headquarters of Tata Sons has had a tradition of letting stray dogs in during the rains. After its recent renovation, the Bombay house now has a kennel for stray dogs. This kennel is equipped with toys, a play area, water, and food. Continuing the tradition, Ratan Tata has an extreme love for these canines. He also has two pet dogs, Tito and Maximus.

16. Millennials Dumbledore

Sometime back there was a huge commotion about the post which went viral. He always supported people with good intentions toward animals. He funded a guy’s venture for dogs as Ratan Ji found it to be something with potential. When the guy, Shantanu was interviewed about the same, he initially opened up about naming Mr. Tata, ‘Millennials Dumbledore’ because of his kindness.

Shantanu Naidu, the 28-year-old is a business assistant of Ratan Tata and also a millennial friend to him.

17. He is a peoples-person

He loves charity and is perhaps one of the most generous big-shots out there. He almost gives away 65% of his profits to charity. The company also has a separate website for the philanthropic work that is carried out and it is with the domain name of, ‘Tata Trusts’.

Recommended read: Here’s Why Ratan Tata Is Not On The List Of The World’s Richest Men

18. Takes good care of his employees

From introducing a modern pension system to maternity leaves and medical facilities he goes the extra mile for the benefit of his employees.

After the 26/11 attacks, when the hotel was dysfunctional Ratan Tata took care of the employees by ensuring they get their paychecks throughout this time. He also compensated the people at the police stations, railways, market vendors, and even pedestrians.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Tata company made sure to keep their employees safe and even provided the affected and their families with quarantine facilities and provided insurance to keep them afloat.

19. His acts of kindness do not end here

On January 4, 2021, the Mumbai-based industrialist travelled to Pune to meet an ailing former employee. Soon after his visit, a photo of him interacting with the employee went viral all over the internet.

20. His investments

As per the sources, the business tycoon invested his personal savings in Snapdeal, Ola cabs, Teabox, Xiaomi, Nestaway, Dogspot, etc.

Recommended read: 10 Start-Ups Funded By Ratan Tata, Who Are Making It Big

21. The ideal Philanthropist

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has donated the biggest by a company to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) for a research facility in cognitive systems and autonomous vehicles. For this lavish 48,000-square-foot building known as the TCS Hall, it donated $35 million.

In 2014, Tata Group backed the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and formed the Tata Center for Technology and Design (TCTD)

Tata Trusts also provided a grant of ₹750 million to the Indian Institute of Science- the Centre for Neuroscience, to study Alzheimer’s disease and to develop methods for its early diagnosis and treatment. 

Under the leadership of Ratan Tata, the Tata Group formed the MIT Tata Center of Technology and Design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

22. His financial aid to Indian students

Under his supervision, the Tata Education and Development Trust, a philanthropic arm of the Tata company, established a $28 million Tata Scholarship Fund to help Indian undergraduate students attend Cornell University which also provides the students with financial aid.

23. He was close to getting married four times

Ratan Tata never actually married. But stated in 2011,

“I came close to getting married four times and each time I backed off in fear or for one reason or another.”

24. Documentaries and shows

An Indian documentary television series about prominent Indian personalities Mega Icons (2018-2020), on National Geographic dedicated an episode to Ratan Tata’s contributions.

He was also seen in the informal chat show hosted by Indian actress Simi Garewal, Rendevouz with Simi Garewal.

25. Awards and recognitions

The Government of India awarded Ratan Tata with the third and second highest civilian honours, the Padma Bhushan in 2000 and Padma Vibhushan in 2008. He also received the highest civilian award of Assam ‘Assam Baibhav’ in 2021 for his outstanding contribution to advancing cancer care in Assam.

He also has a number of awards and recognitions under his cap from several reputed Indian and foreign universities.