Ratan Tata died in Mumbai on Wednesday at the age of 86.

A Silicon Valley executive has paid a heartfelt tribute to business magnate Ratan Tata, saying he “wouldn’t be here” if it wasn’t for the billionaire. Arnav Sahu, a director at Y Combinator, told X that Ratan Tata’s scholarship program enabled him to study in the US and build a career in the land of opportunity. Notably, Mr. Sahu is one of the students who benefited from Ratan Tata’s scholarship program, which helped him pursue higher education at Cornell University, an Ivy League college in New York. His post came after the 86-year-old industrialist died at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday.

“This is a very sad moment for me. Ratan Tata’s scholarship program allowed me to come to the US. He even paid for my plane ticket, laptop, books and rent. Without him, many of us would not be here. One of the most important philanthropists of all time, RIP,” Ms. Sahu wrote on X.

Watch below:

This is a very sad moment for me. Ratan Tata’s scholarship program allowed me to come to the US. He even paid for my plane ticket, laptop, books and rent. Without him, many of us wouldn’t be here. One of the most important philanthropists of all time. RIP 🙏 https://t.co/5flQng7d0t

— Arnav Sahu (@arnavsahu341) October 9, 2024

Following Mr Tata’s death, several people whose lives he touched in ways large and small paid tribute to the industrialist. Among them was Mr Sahu, a beneficiary of Ratan Tata’s Tata Scholarship Fund, which supports Indian students at his alma mater, Cornell University.

On Thursday, the Ivy League college also posted a message honoring the man who continues to inspire businessmen and entrepreneurs from generation to generation. Mr. Tata attended Cornell University in 1962 for a degree in architecture and structural engineering.

In a post on memorializing transformative giving at Cornell.”

Also read | “Goodbye, my dear lighthouse”: Ratan Tata’s trusted assistant Shantanu Naidu

Notably, Mr. Tata’s ties to Cornell University remained strong throughout his life. The university praised the industrialist as its largest international donor and recognized his significant contributions to the institution’s global impact.

“In 2008, a $50 million gift from the Tata Trusts created the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition, a long-term research initiative, and endowed the Tata Scholarship for Students from India. In 2017, a $50 million investment from Tata Consultancy Services helped build the Tata Innovation Center on Cornell Tech’s Roosevelt Island campus in New York City,” the university’s tribute said.

The Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition opened doors for many Indian students to study at Cornell. This year, 305 scholarships were awarded to 89 Indian students, many of whom came from ‘non-feeder’ schools.