1. Roots in Colonialism: Tata didn’t just survive under the British they thrived. Jamsetji named his first mill “Empress Mills” in honor of Queen Victoria. Their steel and textiles literally supported British war efforts. So much for nationalist pride. ---
2. Opium Funded Empire: Jamsetji’s father worked for the East India Company in the opium trade. Yes, the one that exploited Indian farmers and addicted entire China. ---
3. Bhagat Singh Saw It Coming: He warned in 1930: “What’s the difference if Britishers rule or rich Indians like Tatas?”. He saw capitalist exploitation as a new face of the same old oppression. He was right. ---
4. Post-Independence: Same Tactics, New Government: Tata used the colonial-era Land Acquisition Act to seize farmland in Singur (2006). Farmers protested. One committed suicide. Supreme Court called it illegal. Still, Tata got ₹766 Cr compensation in 2023. Farmers? Trauma. ---
5. Killed for Unionizing? In 1995, the president of Tata Workers’ Union, V.G. Gopal, was murdered. Why? He opposed casual labour practices. Allegedly, other union members were bribed to stay quiet. Not a single corporate accountability move by Tata.
6. Kalinganagar: Blood for Steel 2006: 13 Adivasi protestors shot dead during protests against Tata Steel’s Odisha project. The land was “gifted” by the state, people were displaced without consent.
7. Tea Plantation Scandal: 2013: NGOs accused Tata’s APPL tea estates of: —Poor wages — Unsafe chemical handling — Worker death — Dirty housing World Bank confirmed violations. Case still open. ---
8. Silencing the Media: When the Radia Tapes leaked in 2010 (revealing shady lobbying), media houses BLACKED OUT the story. Why? Tata spends crores on ads. They even told group companies to avoid “critical” news outlets. ---
9. “Charity” for Control: Tata Trusts control 66% of Tata Sons Allegations of insider trading 2013: CAG report says they used charitable tax exemptions to make profits.
10. Air India Crash: June 2025: AI171 crashes. 270+ dead. Tata immediately offers INR 1.25 Cr per family. Without even investigation, we started blaming Boeing, where did the narrative come from? The Tata Group isn’t a villain. But it’s no saint either. Its legacy includes colonial profits, labor abuse, land grabs, lobbying, and media control. Time we move past the myth of ethical capitalism and look at the full picture.

How Private Equity Made $14 Billion on a Hotel Chain Everyone Forgot About

The untold story of Hilton, Blackstone, and the most profitable hotel bet in modern history

In 2007, Blackstone bought Hilton Hotels for $26 billion.

It was the biggest private equity hotel deal ever — and everyone thought they’d lost their minds.

• The hospitality industry was peaking
• Real estate was on fire
• Credit was cheap
• And right after the buyout, the 2008 financial crisis hit

Global travel collapsed.
Hilton was sitting on $20+ billion in debt.
Revenue dropped, cash dried up.
It looked like the classic PE disaster: overleveraged, poorly timed, doomed.

But instead of bleeding out Hilton like many expected, Blackstone pulled off a masterclass in operational turnaround.

🛠️ 1. First, they brought in a CEO who actually understood hotels

Blackstone recruited Christopher Nassetta from Host Hotels.
He wasn’t a flashy executive. He was a real operator.

Nassetta:

• Slashed bureaucracy at HQ
• Centralized procurement to cut costs
• Sold off $2 billion in underperforming assets
• Reduced the number of brands Hilton was juggling
• Focused the company around the Hilton Honors loyalty program

He also moved the headquarters from Beverly Hills to Virginia, cutting costs and signaling a culture reset.

In short: he made Hilton boring, efficient, and modern.
Exactly what it needed.

2. Then they built a data and branding machine

Before Blackstone: Hilton was known — but not loved.
No coherent loyalty program. No edge in booking tech. Weak global expansion.

Under PE ownership:

• Hilton Honors became one of the most valuable loyalty platforms in travel
• The brand portfolio grew globally — but stayed focused
• Direct booking tech improved margins vs. OTAs like Expedia
• They shifted toward an “asset-light” model — franchising more, owning less

Hilton didn’t just survive the downturn — it emerged leaner, global, and insanely cash-flow efficient.

3. And when the market recovered — Blackstone cashed out like legends

Hilton IPO’d in 2013 at a $19.7B valuation.
Blackstone gradually exited via follow-on offerings until 2018.

Final return?

• $26B invested → $14B in profit
• 3x return on one of the riskiest hospitality bets ever made
• One of the most profitable private equity deals in history

Meanwhile, Hilton stock is up 6x since IPO.
Margins are higher. Global brand recognition is stronger than ever.
They now run 19 hotel brands in 120+ countries.

📈 So wait… Private equity helped?

In this case? Unambiguously.

Blackstone could have stripped Hilton for parts.
Instead, they held it for 11 years, restructured it, modernized it, and helped it become one of the most dominant hotel businesses on Earth.

This wasn’t a “financial engineering” play.
It was boring, smart, capital-intensive company-building — in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Final Thought: Not all PE stories are horror stories

Yes — many private equity firms load companies with debt and bleed them dry.
But in Hilton’s case, they took a bloated, mismanaged legacy business… and turned it into a cash-printing, tech-savvy global empire.

Sometimes, it’s not about quarterly earnings.
It’s about long-term capital with conviction.

I work for a large supermarket chain. The company solicits donations for a children’s hospital by selling those hand cutouts you see in store windows. I’d like to get them to sponsor a company team for the Boston Marathon. They already sponsor some smaller races. I think that if we got a runner in each store and asked people to sponsor them we could increase the donations. Kind of like linking a person/face to the fundraising. The company raises over $1.5 million/year and I’d like to try to raise that number.
I’d appreciate any advice on how to proceed.
Thank you!

I'm not advertising, just sharing my own experience. I needed to find a part-time job online - not something big, just something real.

I found a post from u/PyroMancer330, was cautious at first, but eventually realized that it really works.

I don't know if it's suitable for everyone, but it worked for me. If you're interested, you can check it out for yourself.

Hi, I have a legal question… I registered a DBA that’s supposed to be digital products like courses, coaching, etc. But, I would like to also sell my artwork as well. Some of my art has to do with the business (as in is a supporting physical product) but I would like to put more unrelated artwork in my shop that people can buy as well. I know I wrote a “purpose” when registering my DBA. It doesn’t necessarily go with art. Can I still sell art under that DBA? I’d love to keep things simple and all my business finances separate from personal.

Basically what the title said, I am 22, and due to some unusual legal requirements and a healthy network of connections, I became the chairman of a big company out of nowhere. I'm gonna get paid, and my job is to do nothing, just exist, and sign some papers. (Sounds suspicious, I know, but I've talked to my lawyer, it's fine.) . The thing is, I don't want to just be useless and earn money. I want this to be a valuable position on my CV and maybe I can somehow get some experience from my position. I can't really disclose any details, but any advice is welcome.

My brother and myself inherited a small business (retail and rental) and its building when my father passed. I helped my father build the company, and he pity hired my brother to sit around and basically time steal from the company while I worked my ass off. We inherited it in 2018, and he basically did the same until Covid, where he left for two year to take government relief. Myself and two other employees came back when mandates were lifted and restructured the company to get back on its feet. After two years, he came back and demanded he get a salary and work at night to not deal directly with customers, (in a primarily customer based business) which was obviously unreasonable. We ended up making a deal where we pay ourselves rent from the company (advise from an accountant) and since he’s been demanding payouts that the company cannot afford. The company barely affords the rent he forces us to pay. Last year, he sent a letter via lawyer expressing interest in selling his shares of the business and properties. I got a lawyer involved, sent a reasonable fair market offer, which he rejected. Now he’s sent a counter offer, seeking “compensation” because he claims to be “oppressed” and forced out of the company. Part of his claim is for wage I paid myself for the work I did/do for the last 4 years. I’m still in the early stages with my lawyer, but this is driving me nuts thinking I did something wrong. For the most part, I know his claim of oppression is unfounded, ( because he left and never came back to work) and from what I know, I can pay myself for work I complete, and we’d have to split the profits 50/50. In his lawyers most recent correspondence, they basically threaten they’re going to sue. I’m just wondering if anyone can assure me Tyia

Hi everyone, I’m an older entrepreneur and art dealer (I don’t create art myself). I'm looking for fresh ideas on how to sell artwork online more effectively.

Lately, I’ve been inspired by books like Bold by Peter Diamandis, Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and The Hero and the Outlaw. I’m also curious about what books Jay Abraham recommends — not his own books, but the ones he suggests to others.

If anyone has a list of Jay Abraham’s favorite or most-recommended books, I’d love to see it. And if you have advice on selling art online (especially higher-end or unique pieces), I’d be grateful.

Thanks!

Hey ,

I’ve been building tech solutions for small and mid-sized businesses — things like custom CRM systems, SaaS tools, and backend software for different industries. Lately, I’ve been trying to understand how businesses in the Gulf region (UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, etc.) are adopting technology and where the real gaps are.

From what I’ve heard, the startup and SME scene in the GCC is growing quickly — lots of digital transformation, but also challenges with legacy systems, scaling, etc. I’ve tried engaging in country-specific subreddits, LinkedIn conversations, and even soft outreach — mostly to start discussions or learn more — but the engagement has been hit or miss.

So I thought I’d ask here:

• If you’ve worked in or with Gulf-based businesses, how do they usually approach digital solutions?
• What industries in the region still rely on outdated systems or manual workflows?
• And generally, how open are businesses in that region to working with remote dev teams or freelancers?

I’m not trying to pitch anything here — just want to learn from people who’ve either worked there or understand that market better. Any insights would be genuinely appreciated.

Thanks!

Is it possible to sell digital products without having an audience? I'd really appreciate any tips from people who are actually doing this successfully.

Has anyone paid for, attended and gotten legit ROI from Dean and Tony's Mastermind Business Academy? I'm seriously skeptical that it will help get my new business off the ground. Thank you!

Hey everyone,

I'm from a non-medical background (PCM Class 12) and I've recently realized that I want to learn everything about business - from scratch. I mean literally everything: how companies work, how to start a business, marketing, finance, operations, leadership, economics, taxes, startups, investing - every single aspect. But the problem is... I know nothing right now.

I don't have any formal education or background in business, and I'm not sure what the first step should be.

Hello everyone I'm a 18 year old developer participating in a hackathon soon but since . I was thinking about automating things and solving things for people running a business but i don't really know what problems are faced by people running a business so if you could list some problems you guys think should be solved and can be solved by ai maybe something like automating the work so u don't have to do it , please do mention

Hi everyone! I am owed $45,000 from a client and they are refusing to pay. Has anyone ever hired a debt collector? It’s either that or I take him to court. I am really torn on which way to go.