MASAYOSHI SON

Masayoshi Son

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MASAYOSHI SON BIOGRAPHY

Masayoshi Son, born on August 11, 1957, in Tosu, Saga Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese entrepreneur and investor best known as the founder and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., one of the world’s largest technology and investment conglomerates. With a reputation for making bold and transformative investments, Son has been instrumental in shaping the tech landscape globally. As of 2023, his net worth is estimated to be around $22 billion, making him one of Japan’s wealthiest individuals.

Son’s early life was marked by a drive to achieve greatness despite facing challenges due to his Korean-Japanese heritage, which exposed him to societal discrimination in Japan. From a young age, he displayed a keen interest in technology and business. At the age of 16, he moved to the United States to study and attended Serramonte High School in Daly City, California. He later enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in economics and took an interest in computer science. During his time at Berkeley, Son started a business distributing arcade game machines to restaurants, which was his first foray into entrepreneurship.

In 1981, after graduating from Berkeley, Son returned to Japan and founded SoftBank, initially focusing on software distribution. The company quickly grew and expanded into publishing, producing computer and technology-related magazines. However, it was Son’s foresight in recognizing the potential of the internet that would change SoftBank’s trajectory. In the mid-1990s, he made a series of high-profile investments in internet companies, most notably in Yahoo!. In 1996, Son partnered with Jerry Yang to launch Yahoo! Japan, which became one of the country’s most successful internet ventures.

Son’s most significant and transformative investment came in 2000 when he invested $20 million in Alibaba Group, a then-relatively unknown Chinese e-commerce startup founded by Jack Ma. The investment, which many considered risky at the time, turned out to be one of the most lucrative bets in tech history. By the time Alibaba went public in 2014, Son’s stake in the company was worth tens of billions of dollars, solidifying his status as a visionary investor.

In 2016, Son made headlines with the launch of the SoftBank Vision Fund, a $100 billion investment fund focused on technology startups, with substantial backing from investors like Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company. The Vision Fund became the largest technology investment fund in the world, focusing on companies in sectors such as artificial intelligence, robotics, e-commerce, and autonomous vehicles. Through the Vision Fund, Son has invested in companies like Uber, WeWork, Slack, and Arm Holdings, among others. While some of these investments have faced challenges, particularly WeWork’s failed IPO, Son’s strategy of making large, long-term bets on disruptive technologies has continued to shape the global tech ecosystem.

Son’s approach to business is deeply influenced by his philosophy of making bold decisions and his vision of the future, often referred to as his “30-year vision.” He believes in investing in companies and technologies that will fundamentally change the way people live and work in the future. This long-term outlook has driven SoftBank’s aggressive investment strategy, particularly in sectors like artificial intelligence and telecommunications.

Beyond his business endeavors, Son has also made contributions to society through philanthropy. After the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, he pledged significant funds to support relief efforts and reconstruction. He also donated his personal salary to aid victims and help rebuild affected areas.

Despite facing challenges in recent years, including high-profile losses from some of SoftBank’s investments, Son remains a towering figure in the tech world. His willingness to take risks, combined with his visionary leadership, has made him one of the most influential entrepreneurs of the 21st century. Son continues to lead SoftBank with a focus on driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of what technology can achieve, cementing his legacy as a key architect of the global tech landscape.