You dont have to talk to me. WeWorkcontrolled by billionaire Masayoshi Sons SoftBank Grouphas unveiled its flagship office tower in Singapore as the company expands in the Asian financial hub, which is among its fastest growing markets. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. They relented Son was allowed into Fujitas office, and he had a 15 minute chat with his young fan. SoftBanks C.E.O. In July 2016, Softbank purchased a European technology company- Arm Holdings. The price of the acquisition was around $ 34 billion. China's Ant group and Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank, two of the largest investors in Paytm's parent One97 Communications, are looking at reducing their holding in the fintech major. You cant argue with the fact that hes been successful in the past, Kaplan said. Sun never hesitate in doing philanthropy work. He will just shake hands and thats it.. [2], Since Son founded SoftBank in 1981, he has made many investments, but the vast majority of those deals failed, and his reputation as an investor rests almost solely on his $20 million investment in Alibaba Group in 2000, a stake that was worth $130 billion in 2018. Reflects change since 5 pm ET of prior trading day. [3] The morphing of his own telecom company SoftBank Corp. into an investment management firm called SoftBank Group Corp. made him noted worldwide as a stock investor. The youngest of them is the founder of Gungho Online Entertainment, a Japanese video game developer company. In July, he sold a 9,400-square-foot house at 2060 North Bay Road for $32.3 million. By the late 90s, Son had, Masa Son (left) with Yahoo founder Jerry Yang (right), Alibaba, of course, has ended up becoming one of the most valuable companies in the world, and Softbanks stake has now grown to an, What has led to Sons sustained success? His League of Legends live gaming streams, Valorant plays and Super Mario 64 speedruns with his own commentary have helped him garner massive popularity. [29], Founder, CEO and largest shareholder of SoftBank, by December 2022, Masayoshi Son had a stake of 34.2% in the company. 4,841 stories Al Jazeera . A 3rd generation "Zainichi Korean", he naturalized as a Japanese citizen in 1990. Masayoshi Son is no stranger to vast sums of money. Masayoshi Son is a famous Japanese entrepreneur, philanthropist, investor, and billionaire. (Bloomberg) -- Masayoshi Son is now personally on the hook for about $5.1 billion on side deals he set up at SoftBank Group Corp. to boost his compensation, as losses mounted at its core Vision. The first ever English language biography of Masayoshi Son, Japan's foremost IT revolutionary and SoftBank's founder, chairman and CEO. As a student studying economicsat UC-Berkeley forty years ago, he convinced Forrest Mozer, a professor who had invented a talking calculator for the blind, to join him in building a pocket translator. Son is also remarkably comfortable taking large, risky bets, and has a keen eye for the future. He was born in 1957 in Japan, the son of Korean immigrants. By the late 90s, Son had invested in several tech companies, includingKozmo.com,More.com, SportsBrain and even Webvan. This company, he told shareholders, is ready to become next Alibaba. The choice to namedrop his most famous investment may say as much about the pressure on Son to find yet another Alibaba-sized opportunity as it does about his actual enthusiasm for WeWork. Musk's net worth now stands at $187 billion. Softbank was a software distributor at the time, selling packaged software to Japanese clients. Most stock quote data provided by BATS. [46] As of 2019, it aimed to nearly double its portfolio of AI companies from 70 to 125. Son appeared to play that card very publicly last year. Based on over twenty years of in-depth interviews and study, Atsuo Inoue brings Son's story to life in this . He plans to stay there during more frequent visits to Sprints headquarters in Overland Park, Kan., they said. Aron told him it could one day capture much of the worlds data. Sons conversations with founders reflect that abiding desire to reshape the world. It invested $2.5 billion in Flipkart, Indias leading online retailer, in 2017. Masayoshi Son Earning Masayoshi Son Assets: House: Masayoshi Son has a $50 million mansion in Tokyo with three stories and a golf range that can simulate the weather and temp of the best golf courses in the world. Masayoshi Son and Jack Ma shaking hands at a forum in Tokyo in 2019. Son was a child when his Korean parents moved to Japan, and he grew up poor. But by 2021, he was still struggling to persuade investors of the value of his efforts, in part because of fiascoes and troublesome losses with companies such as WeWork, OneWeb, Wirecard,[70] OYO Rooms, Katerra[71] or Greensill Capital, and SoftBank Group's own stock chronically traded far below the value of its assets reflecting a discount[72] associated to tax liabilities, risk, past performance, losses, performance fees and high probability of occurrence of several haircuts given Sons poor track record while running the Vision Fund[73] and high enthusiasm for investing vast sums in loss-making companies at eye-popping valuations. Please log in if you don't want to post [30], Son was an early investor in internet firms, buying a share of Yahoo! in Economics in 1980,[26] and started a video game company called Unison World in Oakland, CA. He became a Japanese citizen in 1990 and is a third-generation "Zainichi Korean." White House. Jul 27, 2018 The most expensive home ever sold in California never actually went on the market. . He also spent $117 million on a house in Woodside, California, near Silicon Valley. Son has a house in California that he purchased for reportedly close to $120 million. I survived.. Reuters/Issei Kato Billionaire SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has joined calls to cancel the Tokyo. 126 ratings11 reviews. 45: Masayoshi Son - In Photos: The World's Most Powerful People: 2013", "SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son: A 'crazy' billionaire obsessed with the future", "MEDIA; an Entrepreneurial Exception Rides the Internet in Japan", "The David Rubenstein Show: Masayoshi Son", "Japanese-Style Entrepreneurship: An Interview with Softbank'S CEO, Masayoshi Son", "CEO revealed Korean roots to inspire youths facing bigotry in Japan", "SoftBank's Masayoshi Son quietly lifts stake to 34%, edging toward buyout", "SoftBank Emerges as a Big Loser of the Tech Downturn. [51][52], As of 2020, the first fund had invested in 88 companies including Coupang,[53] Didi,[54] Doordash,[55] Fanatics,[56] Grab,[57] Oyo,[58] Paytm[59] Uber,[60] and WeWork,[61] but had experienced an awkward fall from grace[62][63][64][65] as the COVID-19 pandemic and a Chinese anti-monopoly crackdown[66] accelerated the exposure of the Japanese investment management conglomerate's portfolio weaknesses. When something like that happens he doesnt sit back and sulk and become inward looking, the longtime SoftBank employee said. Now estimated to have a $20 billion valuation, some criticshave called WeWork overvalued, but not Son. Marketing and community activations to ensure the successful debut of creative projects. You dont have to look at me. Elon Musk has been the world's richest person since September 2021. by Atsuo Inoue. and Alibaba, of which SoftBank reportedly owns nearly 30%. Son has three brothers. Hes a very aggressive, risk-taking, entrepreneurial person. Expert cultural consultation and services to ensure authentic storytelling. FC Barcelona legend Ronaldinho's son Joao Mendes has made his debut for the club against Manchester United. So far, SoftBank has accumulated about $1.3 billion in debt. In Japan, his father ran a video game parlour, so he imported early consoles of Pac Man and Space Invaders to the US, and leased them to local bars and restaurants on a profit sharing basis. Arcade games were just taking off in the late 70s, and Sons plan was lucrative he reportedly made his first million dollars through his little scheme. [22] Son's grandfather, Son Jong-kyung, moved from Daegu to Japan during the Japanese colonial period, where he worked as a miner. [36][32], In 2020, SoftBank Group agreed to sell U.K. chip designer Arm Limited to U.S. chip-maker Nvidia in a cash and stock deal initially worth $40 billion. MASAYOSHI SON: "In my home in my basement I have a computer-simulated course. SoftBank declined to make Son available for this article. At age 19, Son became confident that computer technology would ignite the next commercial revolution after being enamoured by a microchip featured in a magazine. He likes to joke he has had more failures than anyone else, but has learned from all of them, says Chris Lane, an analyst with Bernstein who tracks SoftBank. He is the chief executive officer of the Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group, which holds . All content of the Dow Jones branded indices S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 Alibaba, of course, has ended up becoming one of the most valuable companies in the world, and Softbanks stake has now grown to an astonishing $130 billion, a 2240x return on his original investment. Masayoshi Son owns real estate worth $45 million in Tokyo and real estate worth $117.5 million in the Silicon Valley, according to Business Insider. It has a technologically advanced golf range with the same weather and temperature as worlds leading Golf courses. His father and other Koreans illegally built their houses on land that was owned by Japan National Railways, which caused them trouble with the authorities. And they know Son is only getting started. He booked a ticket to Tokyo and landed up at Fujitas office. Well, it certainly didnt have the budget or the IP behind it, but that hasnt stopped Sons of the Forest from rocketing to fame and becoming the second-biggest game of the year on Steam, behind only Hogwarts Legacy itself. Masayoshi believed that Computer technology will bring the next revolution in the world. What has led to Sons sustained success? Sprint's principal owner and chairman, Masayoshi Son, has bought a house in Mission Hills near the home of chief executive Marcelo Claure, who hailed the purchase as a show of confidence.. I think theyve completely changed the dialogue, for better or for worse, said Dan OKeefe, managing partner at Apax Digital, a growth equity fund. Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group Corp. (Bloomberg) Just last year, SoftBank was flying high, borrowing against . Son has made his fortune, lost it all, built it up again, and at the age of 60, is still raring to go. As of February 2023, Masayoshi Japan's net worth is estimated to be roughly $30 Billion. Everyone is trying to figure out how it might impact their subset of the market.. Sprint employees perhaps will soon be seeing more of Masayoshi Son around the Overland Park headquarters. He made another $1.5 million by importing used video game machines from Japan, on credit and installing them in dormitories and restaurants. SoftBank owns stakes in more than 1,000 companies, including Alibaba and Yahoo Japan, according to. After a severe devaluation of SoftBank's equity, Son was forced to focus his attention on Yahoo! Follow the community book club for monthly book picks that help APIs better understand their identity and culture. Hes the closest thing to Bill Gates in Japan, saysSteve Vogel, a professor of Japanese studies at Berkley. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. Worried due to Fukushima nuclear disaster, he started investing in the direction of a nationwide solar power network. Still, he does meet with the CEO of every company SoftBank invests in, according to a longtime SoftBank employee speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal company matters. Masayoshi Son, the chief executive of Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank, said to shareholders on Wednesday that he wants to be viewed as a 21 st century Rothschild. When the dotcom bubble swelled in 2000, he had a net worth of an estimated $76 billion. At the suggestion of Japan's Mc Donald's president Den Fujita Son studied computer science. Armed with Alibabas returns, Softbank is now redoubling its efforts into investing in startups around the world. [23] His family eventually moved out of the neighborhood so that Son could attend a better school. Son claimed he would make personal connections with the CEOs of all companies funded by Vision Fund in order to enhance the creation of intertwined synergies among those companies. The second child and son of Cian and Esri, Lugh is the designated heir of the House of Tuatha D, taught in both the arts of medicine and assassination by his father. Masayoshi Son is the billionaire founder and CEO of Japanese holding company SoftBank. [50] But the amount was scaled down due to lack of investing partners beyond Softbank Group itself and Masayoshi Son. In 1981, he returned to Japan, and set up Softbank with two part-time workers and a small office. In March 2018, Son took his hand in the solar project development plan for Saudia Arabia. He raised another 1.5 million this way. 2021 "[87], By November 2022, according to the Financial Times, Masayoshi Son personally owed SoftBank $4.7bn because of growing losses on the Japanese conglomerates technology bets, which have also rendered the value of his stake in the groups second Vision Fund worthless. He marveled at how Son was able to discuss ideas that were multi-decades out before going back to specific customers and industry details in the present. 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However, after a number of high-profile setbacks, Son's investing strategy in the first and second SoftBank Vision Funds established in 2017 and 2019, has been described as one reliant on the greater fool theory. Masayoshi Son is a Japanese billionaire renowned for his interest in emerging technology companies. Updated: 16 Mar 2022, 02:35 PM IST Bloomberg. and Alibaba, of which SoftBank reportedly owns nearly 30%. Sons net worth was soaring. in economics at the University of California, Berkeley. The Eternal Optimism of Masayoshi Son. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. On the advice of Japans McDonalds president Den Fujita. Sprint in Overland Park declined to comment to a question from The Star seeking to verify the Journals report. It was just tall enough, it turned out, to whack one of the chandeliers. Masayoshi Sons Softbank had invested in Snapdeal in 2013, but the investment didnt quite pay off. 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