The 93-year-old Indian-Irish business magnate, Pallonji Mistry, head of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, passed away on Monday night at his home in Mumbai.
Pallonji Mistry was the richest person in Ireland and the chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his wealth is estimated to be €27.4 billion as of April 9, 2021.
He surrendered his Indian nationality and became an Irish citizen in 2003 through his long marriage to Dublin-born Patsy Perin Dubash.
He is survived by his wife and four children, two daughters and two sons.
Mistry and his family control the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which started more than 150 years ago and today employs more than 50,000 people in over 50 countries.
The company built luxury hotels, stadiums, palaces and factories across Asia.
Its landmark projects include the Reserve Bank of India and the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai and the blue-and-gold Al Alam palace for the Sultan of Oman.
The SP Group was founded in 1865 when Pallonji Mistry’s grandfather started a construction business with an Englishman.
Mistry was born on June 1, 1929, in Mumbai and he joined the SP Group in 1947.
He assisted in the expansion of the SP Group into the Middle Eastern nations in 1970, notably Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Dubai. The Sultan of Oman’s palace was the first foreign project the company won in 1971, which was completed in 1976.
The third-highest civilian award in India, the Padma Bhushan, was given to Pallonji in 2016 for his contributions as an industrialist. Pallonji was one of the oldest billionaires India has seen. Paying tribute to him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he is saddened by the passing away of the billionaire.