Mumbai: The will of Ratan Tata has sprung a surprise with Mohini Mohan Dutta, a former Tata employee and close associate, emerging as one of the inheritors of his fortune.
According to the recently opened will, 74-year-old Dutta, a person little-known to the family or billionaire-philanthropist’s inner circle, is set to receive one-third of the residual estate amounting to ₹500 crore. It includes bank deposits exceeding ₹350 crore and proceeds from the sale of personal assets like paintings and watches, The Economic Times reported.
The remaining two-thirds will be inherited by Ratan Tata’s half-sisters, Shireen Jejeebhoy and Deanna Jejeebhoy, who are also the executors of his will after his death in October 2024 at the age of 86. However, the majority of Tata’s key assets, including his shares in Tata and non-Tata companies, have been bequeathed to his two foundations, according to Business Standards.
He also made several provisions to ensure unlimited care for his pet dog.
Ratan Tata owned 0.83% in the conglomerate and had an estimated net worth of ₹8000 crore, according to various estimates.
Who is Mohini Mohan? What role did he play in Tata’s life?
Mohini Mohan Dutta first met Ratan Tata in the early 1960s at the Dealers’ Hostel in Jamshedpur, where Tata, then 24, was beginning his journey in the family empire. That encounter significantly shaped Dutta’s life, according to a CNTV18 report.
The Jamshedpur-based entrepreneur started his career with the Taj Group before founding Stallion Travel Agency, which he later merged with Taj Services in 2013. He and the family held 80% stake in Stallion with the remaining owned by the Tata Group. Dutta was also a director of TC Travel Services, an erstwhile affiliate of Thomas Cook.
Though Dutta is being described as an “adopted son,” Tata’s will explicitly states the industrialist never married or legally adopted children. Dutta’s ties with the Tata family also extend beyond business. His daughter worked at Tata Trusts for nearly a decade, and he was a guest at Tata’s birth anniversary commemoration in December 2024.
“He helped me out and really built me up,” Dutta had told the media in the past.
