The Jaguar, Land Rover, and Tetley tycoon Ratan Tata died earlier this month aged 86, but now his German shepherd, Tito, has been awarded “unlimited care” as part of his will.As is customary in India, the businessman, who never married or had children, would have left his estate, valued at around £91million, to his siblings. But he overlooked his brother, Jimmy Tata, and half-sisters Shireen and Deanna Jejeebhoy in favour of his beloved German shepherd, Tito.According to the Times, Mr Tata stated that his pooch, his butler and general assistant, Konar Subbiah, and his cook, Rajan Shaw, should each receive a large portion of his fortune.
His siblings will only inherit part of his estate.In his will, Mr Tata, who is credited with transforming the Tata Group into a globally renowned conglomerate specified that provisions should be put in place to provide ‘unlimited care’ for his beloved pet, who was by his side until he died.According to Suhel Seth, a close friend of Tata, the amount which has been left to Tata’s former butler and cook, both in their 50s and now taking care of Tito, is generous.He has made very, very generous provisions for them’, he told the Times. ‘They will never have to work again and they will be very well looked after’.
He added that the instructions were of no surprise to those who knew Mr Tata well, saying: ‘This will is not a statement of wealth’ but a ‘gesture of gratitude for the joy and care’ he was given by his pets and two closest aides.During his tenure as chairman of the Tata Group, the conglomerate made several high-profile acquisitions.The group purchased British tea firm Tetley in 2000 for $432 million and Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus in 2007 for $13 billion – at the time the biggest takeover of a foreign firm by an Indian company.Tata Motors then acquired British luxury auto brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co in 2008 for $2.3 billion.