Ratan Tata Family Tree: Tracing The Roots Of The Tata Dynasty & Future | Ratan Tata Death

Ratan Naval Tata, chairman of Tata's sons, passed away at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday night and now the anticipation is growing around his succession. So let's first talk about the family line and the future of the family. Jamsevji Tata, the founder of the Tata group, was born to Nusurbanji Ratan Tata and Jeevanbhai Kavashi Tata in 1839. Apart from Jamsevji, Nusurbanji had four Born into a family of Parsi priests, Jamsevji broke the tradition as he started his own trading firm in 1868 at a young age of 29. He started with a textile mill in central India in the 1870s. His vision later set the foundation for technical education in India and helped the nation to be counted among the industrialized nations. Jamsevji married Heerabai Dabu and had three children, Sir Dorabji Tata, Dhoombhai Tata and Sir Ratan Tata. Dorabji, the eldest son of Jamsevji, was instrumental in translating his father's vision into reality. It was under his leadership that Sir Dorabji Tata Trust was created, propelling the Tata tradition of philanthropy. Jamsevji's younger son, Ratan, was a philanthropist who created a trust to fund educational development, elevate human sufferings and other public utility works. Sir Ratan Tata married Navjubai Seth and adopted Nawal H Tata. Nawal married Sunu Komisariyat and had two sons, Ratan N Tata and Jimmy N Tata. But Nawal and Sunu divorced when Ratan N Tata was only 10 years old. Nawal later married Simone Tata and with her had a son, Noel Tata. Noel is Ratan and Jimmy's half-brother. While Ratan and Jimmy never married, Noel tied knot with Alu Mistry, sister of late Cyrus Mistry, who served as chairman of Tata Group. Noel and Alu have three children, Leah Tata, Maya Tata and Neville Tata. Neville is married to Mansi Kirloskar and together they have two children, Jamsev Tata and Tiana Tata. Again, Jeevanbhai Kavashji Tata's brother, Dadabhai Kavashji Tata, adopted son of Dadabhai's son Ratanji Dadabhai Tata married a French woman, Suzanne. They had five children, Sailapati, Jahangir Ratanji, Dadabhai Tata, Rodabai Tata, Darab Tata and Jimmy Tata. Jahangir or JRD Tata, who went on to become Tata chairman, pioneered civil aviation on the subcontinent in 1932 by launching the airline which is now known as Air India. Now coming to the succession, currently popular assumption is that overall control of the Tata Group as opposed to the day-to-day running of the business house, which is in the hands of Tata's son's chairperson, Natarajan Chandrasekaran will automatically pass on to Ratan's half-brother Noel Tata. But things are not so clear cut. Like many before him, Ratan did not leave a clear line of succession on who should inherit his mantle, unless he wrote something in his will. He also did not personally own shares in Tata Sons which he could bequeath to an heir. Unlike most business houses, Tata Sons is owned largely not by individuals but by two charitable trusts. The Sir Ratanji Tata Trust and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, named in memory of Sir Jamsetji Tata's sons, who willed most of the assets to charity, have controlling interests in Tata Sons, which is the holding company for the individual Tata corporations. The trust originally controlled 66%, but it is possible the ownership pattern has got slightly diluted. So as things stand, whoever heads the trust indirectly controls the group. Before Ratan retired as Tata chairperson in 2012, he framed new articles of association, tightening the trust's hold over the group. The two main trusts have the right to nominate one-third of the directors to Tata Sons, as well as act as the final authority of appointment and removal of all directors. Incidentally, among the issues raised by the late Cyrus Mistry, former chairperson of the Tata group, was the need to institutionalise Tata so that it was not run by any single individual. Mistry suggested that a corporate governance framework be drafted to clearly spell out the role of Tata Sons, the role of trusts, and the role of the operating companies. This was never done, as Mistry was fired at a meeting of the Tata Sons board on October 24, in 2016, before even a preliminary draft on the issue could be framed. The history of the unusual arrangement between the trusts and the holding company goes back to But with the change in the company law, with the introduction of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices, MRTP Act of 1969, the managing agency system was abolished, and the numerous Tata companies became legally independent of the parent board. Tata Sons did not have a majority holding in most Tata companies, and it was only the that held together a group which, in fact, became a loose confederation of companies. The group was especially vulnerable to a hostile takeover since, according to government rules, charitable trusts could not vote directly in corporate matters, but only through a neutral government nominee. During Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure as Prime Minister, reportedly through the good offices of Nusli Wadia, then a close friend and ally of Ratan Tata, the company's act was amended in 2002 and a change in Section 153A was Tata-specific. It allowed Tata Trusts to vote directly on the Tata Sons board, and not through a government-nominated trustee.