[2] The family's business began in Bombay in 1897, when Ardeshir Godrej, after reading a newspaper article about rising crime rates in the city, began developing and selling locks with the assistance of his brother Pirojsha.
Among the family's most valuable assets is a 3,500-acre estate in Vikhroli, Mumbai,[4] which has been estimated at $12 billion upon development.
[5] For decades, the family has preserved approximately 1,750 acres of mangrove swamps within the estate,[6] leading to the 2012 inclusion of Adi Godrej and Jamshyd Godrej in Forbes magazine's list of the richest green billionaires.
[7] On 18 June 2014, the Godrej family bought the bungalow of Homi J. Bhabha, Mehrangir, for Rs.
372 Cr[8] through an auction initiated by the National Center for the Performing Arts in Mumbai.