Could Jimmy Tata, living in a two-room flat and without a mobile phone, be Ratan Tata's successor?

When Ratan Tata, one of the architects of modern India, passed on, discussions about his successor became increasingly active. Since he has no children, the nation is closely watching whether he will hand over the reins of the Tata empire to the children of his half-brother. The conversation extends to Noel Tata, his half-brother, and Noel's children, Leah, Maya and Neville.

However, there is a deserving individual from the Tata family itself—Ratan’s brother Jimmy Tata. But Jimmy, who shows little interest in business, lives in a two-room flat in Colaba, Maharashtra. Although he holds shares in Tata Sons and many other Tata companies, he does not even use a mobile phone. He learns about Tata Group developments through newspaper and TV reports. Jimmy, like Ratan, is unmarried and was once an excellent squash player. In 2022, Harsh Goenka, chairman of the RPG group, shared a picture of Jimmy Tata on Twitter.

Following that, in January 2023, Ratan posted a childhood photo with Jimmy on Instagram. The black-and-white picture, taken in 1945, was captioned: "Happy days. We had nothing between us then." Their pet dog was also in the photo. Both Ratan and Jimmy are the sons of Naval Tata and Sooni Tata. When Ratan was ten years old, Naval and Sooni separated, and both remarried.

Naval later married Simone, a Swiss woman. Noel Tata is the son of Naval and Simone. However, Ratan felt that Noel was not fit to take on leadership responsibilities. That is why Ratan first chose Cyrus P Mistry and later N Chandrasekaran as chairman. But after Ratan,Tata Group might consider a generational shift.

The history of the Tata family, which made a place in Indian industrial history, begins with Nusserwanji Tata.

Nusserwanji Tata (1822-1886)

Nusserwanji was the patriarch of the Tata family and was a Parsi priest. He was the one who started the family business.

Jamsetji Tata (1839-1904)

Jamsetji, the son of Nusserwanji Tata, was the founder of the Tata Group. He is known as the father of Indian industry. He expanded the business into sectors like Tata Steel, Tata Hotels, and hydropower.

Dorabji Tata (1859-1932)

Dorabji, the elder son of Jamsetji Tata, took over as the leader of the Tata Group after Jamsetji's death. He played a significant role in taking businesses like Tata Steel and Tata Power to new heights.

Ratan Tata (1871-1918)

Ratan, the younger son of Jamsetji Tata, focused on the development of the Tata Group.

J R D Tata (Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, 1904-1993)

J R D Tata, the son of Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and Suzanne Brier, served as chairman of the Tata Group for over 50 years. He founded Tata Airlines, which later became Air India.

Naval Tata (1904-1989)

Naval Tata, the adopted son of Ratan Tata, was a key figure in the Tata Group.

Ratan Naval Tata (1937-2024)

Ratan Tata, the son of Naval Tata and Sooni Tata, became the most prominent figure in the Tata Group. He transformed Tata into a global business conglomerate. Major acquisitions like Corus, JLR and Tetley happened under his leadership.

Noel Tata (1957- )

Noel Tata is Ratan Tata's half-brother, the son of Naval Tata and Simone Tata. He was the chairman of Trent, Tata Group's retail division.