Masayoshi Son

Early Life and Background

Masayoshi Son was born on August 11, 1957, in Tosu, Saga Prefecture, Japan, as the third of four children. He is ethnically Korean, belonging to the Zainichi Korean minority in Japan. His family, originally named Son (손) in Korean, adopted the Japanese pronunciation 'Son' and used it as their Japanese surname, a common practice for Zainichi Koreans to assimilate and navigate societal biases. His grandfather had migrated from Korea to Japan. Son's father operated a pachinko parlor, and his family resided in a modest home, facing the social and economic challenges often associated with the Zainichi community in Japan. From an early age, Son displayed a strong entrepreneurial drive and a keen interest in business. At the age of 16, he was profoundly inspired after reading the autobiography of Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's, which ignited his ambition to pursue a business career on a global scale.

Education

Driven by his aspirations, Masayoshi Son moved from Japan to the United States at the age of 16. He initially attended Serramonte High School in San Francisco before enrolling at the University of California, Berkeley. There, he pursued a major in Economics, demonstrating an early aptitude for strategic thinking and market analysis. During his time as a student, Son exhibited remarkable ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit. He invented an electronic multi-language pocket translator, successfully patenting his innovation and selling the rights to Sharp Corporation for a substantial sum of ¥100 million, equivalent to approximately $1 million at the time. This early success provided him with significant capital. Furthermore, he capitalized on the burgeoning arcade game craze by importing Space Invaders arcade machines from Japan to school dormitories and local restaurants, generating additional income and gaining practical business experience before even graduating from university.

Career

Upon returning to Japan after his education, Masayoshi Son founded SoftBank in 1981, initially as a software distribution company. The company quickly expanded its operations to include publishing computer magazines such as 'Oh! PC' and 'Oh! MZ', establishing itself as a key player in Japan's burgeoning personal computer market. In the 1990s, SoftBank made strategic investments, notably acquiring Ziff Davis, a major American technology publisher, and later investing in Yahoo!, which led to the creation of Yahoo! Japan in 1996, a highly successful joint venture. This period marked SoftBank's transition from a domestic software distributor to an international internet and media conglomerate.

The early 2000s saw Son make a pivotal move into the broadband internet services market with the launch of Yahoo! BB, challenging established telecommunications giants in Japan. In 2006, SoftBank made another monumental acquisition, purchasing Vodafone Japan for ¥1.75 trillion (approximately $15.3 billion), subsequently rebranding it as SoftBank Mobile. This bold move transformed SoftBank into a major mobile carrier in Japan. Son's most famous and prescient investment came in 2000 when SoftBank invested $20 million in the then-nascent Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba for a 34.4% stake. This investment would later become one of the most successful venture capital bets in history, yielding returns of hundreds of billions of dollars.

In 2013, SoftBank acquired a majority stake in the U.S. telecommunications company Sprint Corporation for $20.1 billion, aiming to create a global mobile powerhouse. Although Sprint eventually merged with T-Mobile US, the acquisition demonstrated Son's ambition in the global telecom sector. A significant strategic shift occurred in 2016 when SoftBank acquired ARM Holdings, a British semiconductor design company, for £24.3 billion (approximately $32 billion), signaling a deep dive into the foundational technology of the internet of things (IoT).

Masayoshi Son's career reached a new zenith with the launch of the Vision Fund in 2017. This $100 billion technology-focused venture capital fund, backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Apple, among others, became the largest tech investment fund in the world. Through the Vision Fund and its successor, Vision Fund 2, SoftBank made massive investments in numerous high-profile, often disruptive, technology companies globally, including Uber, WeWork, Didi Chuxing, OYO, DoorDash, and ByteDance (the parent company of TikTok). This strategy positioned SoftBank as a dominant force in global tech investment, aiming to support the "information revolution" and identify future industry leaders.

Major Achievements

Masayoshi Son's career is marked by several groundbreaking achievements. He successfully built SoftBank Group from a small software distributor into a sprawling global technology conglomerate with interests spanning telecommunications, internet services, e-commerce, and advanced technology. His visionary investment in Alibaba in 2000, initially a modest $20 million, grew into a stake worth hundreds of billions of dollars, becoming one of the most profitable venture capital investments in history and solidifying his reputation as a shrewd and forward-thinking investor. He pioneered broadband internet services in Japan with Yahoo! BB, significantly impacting the country's digital infrastructure. The acquisition of Vodafone Japan and Sprint demonstrated his ambition to become a major global telecommunications player. Most notably, Son conceptualized and launched the SoftBank Vision Fund, a monumental $100 billion investment vehicle that reshaped the landscape of global technology investing, providing unprecedented capital to a wide array of startups and established tech firms worldwide.

Personal Life

Masayoshi Son is married to Masami Ohno, and they have two daughters. Despite his immense wealth and global business commitments, Son has also engaged in significant philanthropic activities. Following the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, he publicly pledged to donate ¥10 billion (approximately $120 million) of his personal fortune to support the victims and recovery efforts. He also committed to donating his remaining salary until his retirement to the same cause, demonstrating a profound sense of social responsibility. In the late 1990s, Son faced a significant personal challenge when he was diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C, a condition that forced him to step back from day-to-day operations for a period of time. He ultimately recovered and returned to lead SoftBank with renewed vigor, a testament to his resilience.

Legacy

Masayoshi Son's legacy is multifaceted and profound. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and audacious investors of the 21st century, renowned for his long-term vision and willingness to take calculated risks on emerging technologies and disruptive business models. He has often spoken of his 300-year vision for SoftBank, emphasizing sustained innovation and growth. Son transformed SoftBank from a domestic Japanese company into a global investment powerhouse, shaping the trajectory of countless technology companies worldwide through the Vision Funds. His strategic investments, particularly in Alibaba, serve as a masterclass in venture capital. He has inspired a generation of entrepreneurs and investors with his bold pronouncements and unwavering belief in the "information revolution." While his aggressive investment style and the performance of some Vision Fund portfolio companies have drawn criticism and controversy, his impact on the global tech ecosystem and his role in fostering innovation are undeniable. He remains a symbol of entrepreneurial spirit and a testament to the power of ambitious, long-term strategic thinking in the business world.