Masayoshi Son

Early Life and Background

Masayoshi Son was born on August 11, 1957, in Tosu, Saga Prefecture, Japan, as the second of four children. His family belonged to the Zainichi Korean community, an ethnic Korean minority group residing in Japan, a heritage that often brought with it societal challenges and discrimination. To mitigate these issues, his family adopted the Japanese surname "Yasumoto" during his early life; however, Masayoshi Son later reverted to his original Korean surname, "Son," reflecting a strong sense of identity. His grandfather had emigrated from Korea to Japan. His father operated pachinko parlors, a common form of arcade gambling in Japan. From a young age, Son displayed an entrepreneurial spirit and a keen interest in business. He was particularly inspired by the autobiography of Den Fujita, the founder of McDonald's Japan, which fueled his ambitions to pursue business opportunities. At the remarkably young age of 16, driven by a desire for broader horizons and educational opportunities, Son made the bold decision to move to the United States. This move marked a pivotal moment in his formative years, setting the stage for his future global endeavors.

Education

Upon arriving in the United States, Masayoshi Son quickly navigated the American education system. He attended Serramonte High School in San Francisco, demonstrating exceptional academic prowess by completing the required coursework and graduating within just two weeks by passing all necessary exams. Following this accelerated high school experience, he enrolled at Holy Names University in Oakland, California, for two years before transferring to the prestigious University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley, he pursued a major in economics, while also dedicating significant time to studying computer science, a field that was rapidly emerging and would become central to his future career. During his university years, Son's innovative spirit truly blossomed. He invented a multi-language electronic translator, a device he successfully patented and later sold to Sharp Corporation for a substantial sum of $1 million, providing him with significant capital for his future ventures. Concurrently, he displayed his practical business acumen by importing "Space Invaders" arcade games from Japan, modifying them, and then leasing them to student dormitories, an enterprise that generated considerable income. He successfully graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1980, equipped with both theoretical knowledge and practical entrepreneurial experience.

Career

Masayoshi Son returned to Japan in 1981, immediately embarking on his entrepreneurial journey. In September 1981, he founded SoftBank, initially named Nihon SoftBank. The company began as a software distributor and a publisher of computer magazines, notably "Oh!PC" and "Oh!MZ," which quickly became popular among early computer enthusiasts in Japan. The 1990s marked a significant strategic pivot for SoftBank towards internet services. A landmark achievement during this period was the establishment of Yahoo! Japan in 1996, a joint venture with the American internet pioneer Yahoo! Inc. This venture rapidly became Japan's most popular internet portal and a cornerstone of SoftBank's burgeoning internet empire.

Son's foresight in identifying future technological trends was evident in his early investments. In 2000, he famously invested a mere $20 million in the then-nascent Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group, a stake that would eventually grow to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars, becoming one of the most successful venture capital investments in history.

In the early 2000s, Son embarked on an audacious mission to revolutionize Japan's internet infrastructure by introducing affordable broadband internet. He launched Yahoo! BB ADSL, aggressively challenging the entrenched telecommunications giant NTT with competitive pricing and advanced technology. Despite fierce resistance and skepticism, his relentless pursuit led to the widespread adoption of broadband in Japan, democratizing internet access for millions.

Continuing his expansion into telecommunications, SoftBank acquired Vodafone Japan in 2006 for approximately $15 billion, rebranding it as SoftBank Mobile. This move propelled SoftBank into the highly competitive mobile telecommunications market. In 2013, SoftBank made a significant foray into the American market by acquiring a 78% stake in the struggling U.S. mobile carrier Sprint Nextel for $21.6 billion. The integration and turnaround of Sprint proved challenging, eventually leading to its merger with T-Mobile US in 2020, with SoftBank becoming a major shareholder in the combined entity.

A pivotal strategic acquisition came in 2016 when SoftBank purchased ARM Holdings, a UK-based semiconductor design company, for £24 billion (approximately $32 billion). This acquisition was a bold bet on the future of the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), as ARM's chip designs are foundational to most mobile devices and increasingly to other connected technologies.

In 2017, Masayoshi Son launched the SoftBank Vision Fund, an unprecedented technology-focused venture capital fund, initially raising a staggering $100 billion from sovereign wealth funds, including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala. This fund, and its subsequent iteration Vision Fund 2, fundamentally altered the scale and pace of global tech investing, deploying massive capital into leading and emerging technology companies worldwide, such as Uber, WeWork, Didi Chuxing, and OYO Rooms. While some investments, like WeWork, faced significant challenges and drew controversy, others yielded substantial returns, cementing SoftBank's role as a dominant force in the global tech ecosystem.

In 2020, SoftBank attempted to sell ARM Holdings to Nvidia for $40 billion, but the deal was ultimately abandoned in February 2022 due to significant regulatory hurdles globally. SoftBank subsequently announced plans to pursue a public listing for ARM. In recent years, SoftBank has also undertaken strategic divestments, selling substantial stakes in Alibaba and T-Mobile to reduce debt and fund share buybacks, demonstrating Son's dynamic and often aggressive portfolio management strategy.

Major Achievements

Masayoshi Son's career is marked by a series of transformative achievements. He successfully built SoftBank from a modest software distribution company into a global technology and telecommunications conglomerate, with a market capitalization that has, at times, rivaled some of the world's largest companies. His visionary early investments, particularly in Yahoo! and Alibaba, are legendary in the venture capital world, demonstrating an unparalleled ability to identify and back future industry leaders. The Alibaba investment, in particular, stands as one of the most successful venture capital bets in history, multiplying SoftBank's initial capital many thousands of times over. Son is also credited with pioneering and democratizing broadband internet in Japan, challenging powerful incumbents and making high-speed internet accessible and affordable for the masses. His audacious entry into and subsequent success in the highly competitive Japanese mobile telecommunications market further solidified SoftBank's position. The creation of the SoftBank Vision Fund, with its unprecedented scale, fundamentally reshaped the landscape of global tech investing, making SoftBank a central player in the funding of countless technology startups. The acquisition of ARM Holdings was a strategic masterstroke, positioning SoftBank at the heart of the future of computing and connected devices.

Personal Life

Masayoshi Son is married to Masami Ohno, whom he met during their time as students at the University of California, Berkeley. Together, they have two daughters. Son is known for his incredibly intense work ethic, his unwavering long-term vision, and his remarkable willingness to take massive risks in pursuit of his entrepreneurial goals. In the late 1980s, he faced a significant personal challenge when he was diagnosed with chronic hepatitis, which necessitated a temporary step back from the day-to-day operations of SoftBank while he recovered. Despite his demanding professional life, Son has also engaged in philanthropic endeavors. Notably, following the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, he pledged 10 billion yen (approximately $120 million at the time) and his entire remaining salary until retirement to support the victims and recovery efforts, demonstrating his commitment to social responsibility.

Legacy

Masayoshi Son stands as one of Japan's most influential and wealthiest individuals, and a truly global force in technology investment. His legacy is defined by his audacious risk-taking, his visionary belief in the power of technology, and his ability to transform industries. He famously articulated a "300-year plan" for SoftBank, reflecting his long-term perspective and ambition to build an enduring institution. Son has transformed SoftBank multiple times over, from a software distributor to a telecommunications giant, and ultimately into the world's largest technology investor through the Vision Funds. While his aggressive investment style and willingness to embrace significant leverage have led to spectacular successes, they have also brought periods of intense scrutiny and financial challenges. Nevertheless, his impact on the global technology landscape, his role in funding a new generation of tech innovators, and his relentless pursuit of a future powered by artificial intelligence and connectivity ensure his place as a titan of industry.