Ratan Tata, originally named Ratan Novel Tata who was the former chairman of the Tata Group, is the current chairman emeritus of Tata Sons. He has been presenting himself as one of the topmost and popular businessmen in India.
Here are the ten craziest facts about Ratan Tata that you probably don’t know –
1. Ratan Tata was raised by her grandmother:
The year was 1940 when Ratan turned 10. His parents got separated at that time. Afterward, his grandmother raised the little Ratan. And he was very fond of his grandmother.
2. Ratan Tata first worked at Tata Steel:
Ratan Tata is the son of Ratanjit Tata and Navajbai Tata. And that’s why he started his career at Tata Steel in 1961. There he was given the job to manage the blast furnace and shovel limestone.
3. Ratan Tata championed some historical mergers:
Some historical mergers including Land Rover Jaguar, Corus, and Tetly played an important role in the Tata group’s phenomenal growth with Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Tea respectively. And Ratan Tata alone accomplished it.
4. Ratan Tata is an expert pilot:
In 2007, Ratan Tata flew the F-16 Falcon. So it shows that he is a skilled pilot and he loves to fly.
5. Ratan Tata donated $50 million to Harvard Business School:
Ratan Tata in 2010 donated a sum of $59 million to build an executive centre for the Harvard Business School. This was the school from where he earned his collegiate degree. The hall was named according to Ratan Tata’s name i e. “Tata Hall”.
6. Ratan Tata earned the most prestigious and highest award in the world:
In 2000, he earned “Padma Bhusan” and in 2008, he earned “Padma Vibushan” awards. And then he earned the most prestigious award in Economic Education as the 26th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow by Cornell University.
7. Ratan Tata was humiliated once in 1999:
In 1999, when Ratan Tata and his team went to sell the group’s fledgling car business to Ford, they faced humiliation. But then the clock turned a full circle and the salt-to-software conglomerate humbled the mighty Ford by taking over the American giant’s marquee brands Jaguar and Land Rover after nine years of the “humiliation”.
8. Ratan Tata built a car cheaper than a motorcycle:
Ratan Tata promised to build a car that would be cheaper than a motorcycle and he finally did it after so many efforts. Tata Nano, build by his company, is the cheapest car in the world that costs Rs. 1 lakh only.
9. Being the chairman of Tata Group, Ratan Tata was criticized by many:
When he was the chairman of the Tata group, he was criticized by many but still, he worked day and night to bring Tata up to a height having various Tetley, Land Rover, Corus, Jaguar, etc.
10. Ratan Tata’s car collection is more unique than others:
Ratan Tata owns a high-class cars collection that includes Ferrari California, Cadillac XLR, Land Rover Freelander, Chrysler Sebring, Honda Civic, Mercedes Benz S-Class, Maserati Quattro Porte, Mercedes Benz 500 SL, Jaguar F-Type, Jaguar XF-R, and more.