Ratan Tata will: These four people to execute Tata’s will, 2 are half-sisters and two others are….

Ratan Tata passed away last week, his will named very close four associates to him as executors.

Tata passed away on October 9 at the age of 86, and was succeeded by his half-brother Noel Tata as chairman of Tata Trusts. Ratan Tata, the late Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, appointed lawyer Darius Khambata and close associate Mehli Mistry as executors of his will, along with his half-sisters Shireen and Deanna Jejeebhoy, according to a report by Economic Times.

Tata, who held a 0.83% stake in Tata Sons, had a net worth of Rs 7,900 crore, according to the Hurun India Rich List 2024. He had long expressed his desire for a significant portion of his wealth to be devoted to charity and social welfare. He had invested in around two dozen companies including Ola, Paytm, FirstCry, Urban Company, and Upstox, though he had exited some ventures. Apart from his residence in Mumbai’s Colaba, Tata owned a holiday home in Alibaug by the Arabian Sea.

Ratan Tata’s Will 

The exact details of Ratan Tata’s will are still private. Mehli Mistry, a close confidante of Tata, served as a trustee on the boards of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, which together hold around 52% of Tata Sons. The collective stake of the Tata Trusts in Tata Sons is 66%. Mistry, who played a key role in caring for Tata during his declining health, had a longstanding association with him. 

He is also a director on the boards of several companies under the M Pallonji Group, and sits on the boards of institutions such as Breach Candy Hospital and the Tata Indian Institute of Social Skills. Mistry stood by Ratan Tata during the legal dispute following the removal of Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry, his cousin.

Darius Khambata, who helped draft Ratan Tata’s will, is a prominent advocate and trustee of the Tata Trusts. He returned to the trusts last year after stepping down in 2016 due to professional commitments.

The Jejeebhoy sisters, Shireen and Deanna, are daughters of Ratan Tata’s mother, Sooni, from her second marriage to Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy. They have both been active in philanthropy, with Deanna previously serving as a trustee on the board of the Ratan Tata Trust in the 1990s and early 2000s. Ratan Tata was known to have shared a close bond with his younger half-sisters.

Ratan Tata’s Will: Role Of Executor

The role of an executor is to ensure the wishes of the deceased are carried out as per the will, while maintaining and managing the assets in a manner consistent with the deceased’s wishes.

RNT Associates Pvt Ltd, Ratan Tata’s personal investment entity, had investments worth Rs 186 crore as of FY23, though this figure reflects the original cost of acquisition rather than current market value, which is likely to have appreciated. Mistry and Tata were the only board members of RNT Associates.

As the executors of Tata’s will, Mistry, Khambata, and the Jejeebhoys now shoulder the responsibility of upholding the values and principles that guided Tata throughout his life.