Ratan Tata was born (December 28, 1937 in Surat, Gujarat) into the wealthy and famous Tata family of Mumbai. He was born to Soonoo and Naval Hormusji Tata. Ratan is the great grandson of Tata group founder Jamsetji Tata. Ratan’s childhood was troubled, his parents separating in the mid-1940s, when he was about seven and his younger brother Jimmy was five. His mother moved out and both Ratan and his brother were raised by their grandmother Lady Navajbai. He was schooled at the Campion School, Mumbai and graduated from Cornell University in 1962 with a degree in Architecture and Structural Engineering.

Ratan Tata is a role model in both his personal life and professional career. He serves as the Chairman of two of the largest private-sector philanthropic undertakings in India: the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the Ford Foundation and of the program board of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s India Aids Initiative.