Masayoshi Son

Masayoshi Son was born in Tosu, (鳥栖市, Tosu-shi) a city in the eastern part of Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan.[9][10][11]

Son is a 3rd generation "Zainichi Korean", which are ethnic Koreans with permanent residency or citizenship in Japan.[12]

At age 16, Son moved from Japan to California and finished high school in three weeks by taking the required exams at Serramonte High while staying with friends and family in South San Francisco. Son attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in engineering. Enamoured by a microchip featured in a magazine, Son at age 19 became confident that computer technology would ignite the next commercial revolution.[13]

His first business endeavours began as a student. With the help of some professors, Son created an electronic translator that he sold to Sharp Corporation for $1.7 million. He made another $1.5 million by importing used video game machines from Japan, on credit, and installing them in dormitories and restaurants.[10] Son pursued his interests in business by securing a meeting with Japan McDonald's president Den Fujita. Taking his advice, Son began studying English and computer science.[14]

Son graduated from Berkeley with a B.A. in Economics in 1980,[15] and started Unison in Oakland, CA, which has since been bought by Kyocera. Son's family had adopted the Japanese surname Yasumoto (安本), and Son had used that surname as a child.[10] He decided to use his Korean surname instead on returning to Japan from the U.S.,[16] and became a role model for ethnic Korean children in Japan.[16]

Son was an early investor in internet firms, buying a share of Yahoo! in 1995 and investing a $20 million stake into Alibaba in 1999. Son's holding company SoftBank owns 29.5% of Alibaba, which is worth around $108.7 billion as of 23 October 2018.[17][18][19] Although SoftBank's stake in Yahoo! had dwindled to 7%, Son established Yahoo! BroadBand in September 2001 with Yahoo! Japan in which he still owned a controlling interest. After a severe devaluation of SoftBank's equity, Son was forced to focus his attention on Yahoo! BB and BB Phone. So far, SoftBank has accumulated about $1.3 billion in debt. Yet, Yahoo! BB acquired Japan Telecom, the then third largest broadband and landline provider with 600,000 residential and 170,000 commercial subscribers. Yahoo! BB is now Japan's leading broadband provider. In June 2020, Son stepped down from the Alibaba board.[20]

In July 2016, SoftBank announced plans to acquire Arm Holdings for £23.4 billion ($31.4 billion) which would be the largest ever purchase of a European technology company. In September 2016, SoftBank announced that the transaction was complete. The total acquisition price was approximately £24 billion ($34 billion).[21][17]

Through his holdings in SoftBank, Son bought a 76% share in Sprint. SoftBank has further accumulated shares in Sprint to about 84% ownership.[22][23]

In response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, Masayoshi Son criticized the nuclear industry for creating "the problem that worries Japanese the most today",[24] and engaged in investing in a nationwide solar power network for Japan.[25] In March 2018, it was announced that Son was investing in the biggest ever solar project, a 200GW development planned for Saudi Arabia as part of its Vision 2030.[26]

In July 2018, coverage indicated that Son "would underwrite most of 100 GW" of a planned 275 GW of new renewable provision in India by 2027.[27]

Son met his wife, Masami Ohno, while in university. They have two daughters.[28] He lives in Tokyo in a three-story mansion that is valued at $50 million and that has a golf range with technology to mimic the weather conditions and temperature of the world’s top golf courses. He has also bought a home near Silicon Valley in Woodside, California, that cost him $117 million. He owns the SoftBank Hawks, a professional Japanese baseball team.[29] Son has three brothers and is the second oldest of the siblings. His youngest brother, Taizo Son, is a serial entrepreneur and investor, having founded GungHo Online Entertainment and the venture capital firm Mistletoe.[30]

In 2011 Son pledged to donate 10 billion yen ($120 million) and his remaining salary until retirement to support victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[31]

SoftBank's investment vehicle, the $100 billion Vision Fund, invests in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics and the internet of things.[32] It aims to double its portfolio of AI companies from 70 to 125.[33] It also invests in companies to revolutionise real estate, transportation, and retail. Son makes personal connections with the CEOs of all companies funded by Vision Fund.[34] Son plans to raise $100 billion for a new fund every few years, investing about $50 billion a year in startups.[35] A second Vision Fund is currently in the works with a target of $108 billion, of which $38 billion would come from Softbank itself.[36] As of 2020, the fund has invested in 88 companies including Coupang,[37] Didi,[38] Doordash,[39] Fanatics,[40] Grab,[41] Oyo,[42] Paytm,[8] and Uber.[43]

• Masayoshi Son, AXA Talents, 1 August 2006, archived from the original on 18 June 2006.
• "Masayoshi Son: The CEO who lost $70bn in a day before conquering the world", Hot Topics, 2014