New Delhi, April 2 -- For a business group whose market value peaked above $400 billion last year, it's remarkable that the man who had long been at its helm was not even a billionaire. The personal wealth of Ratan N. Tata (1937-2024), as revealed by his will that awaits execution, has broadly been estimated at Rs.3,800 crore. This works out to $444 million, a sliver that would hardly be visible in a pie-chart of what the Tata Group is worth.

In an era of India producing billionaires thick and fast, Tata's relatively modest net worth stands out. Nobody familiar with the group would be surprised, though. It reflects its charity orientation that goes back to its founder Jamsetji N. Tata (1839-1904), although the group's broad structure is ...