Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry who inherited his father’s construction behemoth Shapoorji Pallonji Constructions (SP Constructions) at the age of 18 was born on 1 June 1929 to Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry in a traditional Parsi family that had its roots in Bombay. He completed his school and college education in Mumbai (then Bombay) before plunging headlong into the construction business.
During his 65-year-old association with the company, Pallonji embarked on a business expansion drive that witnessed the company spreading into overseas markets as well. The 156-year-old firm registered an exponential increase in its business turnover with Pallonji’s father being instrumental in the construction of several iconic structures in and around Bombay.
Many of the landmarks in the megapolis were constructed by Shapoorji’s firm and many of them were centred around the Fort area in the city. These included the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank, Grindlays Bank, The Standard Chartered Bank, State Bank of India and the Reserve Bank of India.
The young Pallonji mastered the nuances of the construction business in no time and he took over the reins of the firm in 1975 after his father’s death and as the Chairman of S P Constructions exercised complete control over the enterprise. The company also diversified into several other business avenues and acquired controlling stakes in firms like Forbes Textiles and Eureka Forbes.
Pallonji Mistry also served as the Chairman of the Associated Cement Company (ACC). During his tenure as the head of the construction company he was instrumental in the company taking on international projects and creating iconic structures like the President’s office in Ghana, the Ebene IT Park in Mauritius and the Palace of the Sultan of Oman. It would be no exaggeration to say that Pallonji and his firm constructed most of the structures in Muscat. Pallonji’s construction ventures included the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai. The construction tycoon was quick to spot new vistas and opportunities and in harnessing the rapidly growing Indian economy to further his business interests.
The business baron was known to keep a low profile and was publicity shy even though he could work the levers of power with consummate ease. In corporate circles in Mumbai, he was dubbed as the ‘Phantom of Bombay House’ (which incidentally was the headquarters of the Tata group) for his near invisibility and his reticence. Pallonji Mistry was the largest shareholder in Tata Sons, the flagship concern of the Tata conglomerate and held as much as 18.4% of the shares.
A deeply religious individual and a devoted family man, Pallonji was known to be gracious, humble and charitable and was a philanthropist who never believed in trumpeting his contribution to social causes. Along with his wife, Patsy Pallonji, he set up and founded a home for senior citizens in Mumbai. The elder of his two sons, Shapoorji took over the mantle of S P Constructions from his father while his younger son Cyrus served as the Chairman of Tata Sons from November 2011 to October 2016 till, he was ousted from office after a bitter tussle with Ratan Tata, the patriarch of the Tata group. A lover of horses, Pallonji invested in a 200-acre stud farm in Pune. A short biography that encapsulated the success story of the magnate titled ‘The Moghuls of Real Estate’ authored by Manoj Naruburu was released in 2006.
Mistry who was awarded a Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2016 in the field of trade and industry passed away in Mumbai on 28 June 2022. Paying rich tributes to the departed soul Prime Minister Narendra Modi observed that Pallonji Mistry made monumental contributions to the world of commerce and industry. Many of his contemporaries too paid lavish tributes to the memory of the late industrialist all of which were richly deserved.