MUMBAI: Ratan Tata has left nearly Rs 3.5 crore to his house helps and office staff – from car cleaners to peons. The late industrialist also waived off loans extended to members of his staff and even a neighbour.
Tata, who died in Oct 2024, also directed the executors of his will to distribute Rs 15 lakh out of his estate to domestic servants who were with him for over seven years in proportion to their years of service. He also directed them to distribute Rs 1 lakh to part-time helpers and car cleaners.
All his clothing – he wore brands like Daks, Polo, Brooks Brothers, Brioni suits, Hermes ties – will be given to NGOs to distribute them to the underprivileged.
He bequeathed just over Rs 1 crore to his long-time cook Rajan Shaw (which includes a loan waiver of Rs 51 lakh), Rs 66 lakh to butler Subbaiah Konar (including a loan waiver of Rs 36 lakh), and Rs 10 lakh to secretary Delnaz Gilder.
He cancelled a Rs 1-crore loan given to his executive assistant Shantanu Naidu for his MBA studies at Cornell University, as reported by TOI in its Oct 25, 2024 edition. He bequeathed Rs 1.5 lakh to his driver Raju Leon and wrote off a Rs 18-lakh loan.
In his will dated Feb 23, 2022, Ratan Tata said: “I direct my executors that they shall not take any steps to recover the loans (from Shaw, Konar, and Raju Leon) and the same shall not be considered as owing to my estate. I direct that the amount of the loan shall be considered a bequest from me to the concerned servants/drivers.”
He left Rs 5 lakh to Tata Trusts consultant Hoshi D Malesara, Rs 2 lakh to his Alibaug bungalow caretaker Devendar Katamollu, Rs 1.5 lakh to personal assistant Deepti Divakaran, and Rs 50,000 each to peons Gopal Singh and Pandurang Gurav. He also waived a Rs 2-lakh loan to Sarfaraz Deshmukh, one of his helpers.
He allocated Rs 12 lakh for his German shepherd Tito, with Rs 30,000 quarterly disbursements. Tito, adopted after his namesake’s passing, remains under Rajan Shaw’s care.
Tata also waived a Rs 23.7-lakh loan given to his neighbour Jake Malite for his MBA at Warwick Business School, UK. Malite, currently based in Switzerland, was with American aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, as shown in a year-old LinkedIn post.
One-third of Tata’s residual estate (excluding shares and immovable properties) was bequeathed to ex-Taj employee Mohini Dutta. His Seychelles land worth Rs 85 lakh was bequeathed to RNT Associates, a Singapore-registered fund, whose shareholders include former Tata Trusts managing trustee R Venkatraman and former Tata Technologies CEO Patrick McGoldrick.
RNT’s two half-sisters, Shireen Jejeebhoy and Deanna Jejeebhoy (who will each receive one-third of his residual estate), friend Mehli Mistry (recipient of the Alibaug bungalow), and Tata Trusts trustee Darius Khambata are the executors of his will. Each executor will receive Rs 5 lakh as appreciation for dedicating their time and effort to execute the will.
The late industrialist had also ensured that his funeral and obsequial expenses be met by his estate. According to the executors, the funeral expenses were Rs 2,500.
