Hotel tycoon is worth $291 BILLION but drives this $1200 car
Published on May 19, 2022 at 5:26 PM (UTC+4)
by Louise Cheer
Last updated on May 19, 2022 at 5:42 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Meet Ratan Tata, an Indian businessman worth billions who drives around in a $1200 car.
He’s worth a cool $291 billion, but that doesn’t mean he can’t appreciate a cheap ride.
Tata is the chairman emeritus of Tata Sons – they own the hotel chain that created the ultra-luxe Mumbai resort, The Taj Mahal Palace.
He went viral this week after he was filmed rocking up at that same luxury hotel.
And he was driving a $1200 a Nano, a car made by his own company.
The car is worth 100,000 rupees, or US$1,289.
The video was shared by a member of the public with digital creator Viral Bhayani.
“The legend himself snapped by our follower Baba Khan today outside the entrance of Taj Hotel,” the caption read.
“Baba says he was amazed by his simplicity as he had no bodyguards, just hotel staff who escorted him in his small Tata Nano.”
Who is Ratan Tata?
Tata, 84, is chairman of Tata Sons, an international business group that deals in chemicals, communications, beverages, motoring, hotels and power.
The Tato Nano was launched in the 2000s, according to The Economic Times.
But Tata still loves it.
Earlier this week, Tata even wrote a tribute to the Nano.
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“What really motivated me, and sparked a desire to produce such a vehicle, was constantly seeing Indian families on scooters, maybe the child sandwiched between the mother and father, riding to wherever they were going, often on slippery roads,” the business tycoon said.
“One of the benefits of being in the School of Architecture, it had taught me to doodle when I was free.
“At first we were trying to figure out how to make two-wheelers safer, the doodles became four wheels, no windows, no doors, just a basic dune buggy.
“But I finally decided it should be a car. The Nano, was always meant for all our people.”
In 2010, Forbes estimated Tata’s net worth to be $291 billion.
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Louise Cheer oversees and writes stories about the latest headlines on topics such as automotive, technology, gaming, watches, movies and lifestyle. Louise has been a news editor at Yahoo and Daily Mail in Australia, with more than 10 years of experience in the media industry.
