Copyright thehindubusinessline
From being a close friend of the late Ratan Tata and occupying a key position on Tata Trusts to being thrown out of the charitable body, Mehli Mistry’s fortunes have taken a sharp swing in little over a year thrusting him into the public limelight and in the midst of an ugly squabble. Mehli Mistry is described as reserved by those who know him and for the most part he has stayed away from media exposure. For the last year or so, however, he has lived under the media glare as reports of his differences with Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata surfaced. Ironically, Mistry had backed Noel Tata in his appointment as the Trusts chairman, after Ratan Tata passed away last year. Style of functioning Insiders, who know of his style of functioning, say he is blunt and direct in his dealings and over the past year his role within Tata Trusts has earned him many opponents. However, he was among the few to be with Ratan Tata, when the latter’s health was failing. He would often accompany Ratan Tata to his favourite restaurant, the Thai Pavilion at the Taj President. During the final few months of Tata’s life, Mistry was constantly by his side taking care of him. Mistry was one of the four executors of Tata’s will, in which he was bequeathed a house in Alibaug and three heirloom firearms that had belonged to Naval Tata, JRD Tata and Sumant Moolgaonkar. The two had met when Mehli was 10 years old. Tata had also stayed in a flat belonging to Mistry’s grandmother and the friendship that sprang between them then endured over the years. During Ratan Tata’s showdown with Cyrus Mistry in 2016, Mehli had backed Tata, though he was a first cousin of Cyrus, both their mothers being sisters. Tata had also appointed Mistry as a director on his personal investment firm RNT Associates in 2023. Mistry runs the M Pallonji Group, that was established in 1927. It started as a paint marketing company and now has interests spanning painting, dredging, stevedoring, logistics solutions, shipping, finance, investments, life insurance, automobile dealerships and manufacture of speciality coatings. Published on October 29, 2025
