The construction king owns a 18.5 per cent stake in Tata Sons. Mistry's daughter is married to Noel Tata, Ratan Tata's half brother, who could well be the Tata Sons chairman's future successor.

Shapoorji Pallonji & Co Ltd started life as Littlewood Pallonji & Co and was awarded its first construction contract in 1865.

A leader in the construction of large and complex projects in India and abroad, Shapoorji Pallonji has expanded into a group of companies with operations in commercial and residential buildings, infrastructure projects, industrial plants, power, mechanical works, electrical works and property development.

It was one of the first Indian construction companies to venture into the Middle East in the 1970s.

Forbes magazine ranked Mistry in 2004 as the fifth richest Indian, with an estimated net worth of about $2.3 billion.

People who know him describe him as humble and friendly. 'He has excellent business acumen and is unassuming,' Mistry's son Cyrus and the company's managing director, told Forbes about his media shy father.

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