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, and were originally from Jinju, South Korea. Growing up, his family faced significant discrimination due to their Korean heritage. At the age of 16, he relocated from Japan to California in the United States, driven by a strong ambition to pursue higher education and entrepreneurial opportunities. During his early years, his family adopted the Japanese surname 'Son' (孫) in order to assimilate more easily into Japanese society, although their ancestral Korean surname was 'Son' (손) as well. His father, Masanori Son, was involved in various businesses, including pachinko parlors, which provided a modest income but instilled an early understanding of business operations in Masayoshi.

Education

Son's educational journey began in Japan but quickly shifted to the United States. After moving to California, he attended Serramonte High School in Daly City, where he rapidly completed the standard two-year curriculum in just three weeks through accelerated learning. This allowed him to graduate early and enroll at the University of California, Berkeley. While at Berkeley, Son pursued studies in economics and computer science, demonstrating an early aptitude for technology and business. During his time as a student, he displayed remarkable entrepreneurial drive. He invented an electronic translator, which he successfully patented and later sold to Sharp Corporation for approximately $1 million. He also imported and distributed Space Invaders arcade game machines, generating significant profits that helped fund his further ventures and supported his family. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in 1980.

Career

Upon returning to Japan in 1981, Masayoshi Son, then 24 years old, founded SoftBank (originally named Nihon SoftBank). The company initially focused on software distribution and publishing, launching publications such as 'Oh! PC' and 'Oh! MZ' magazines, which quickly became popular among Japanese computer enthusiasts. SoftBank's strategy of bundling software and hardware proved highly successful, leading to rapid growth. In 1994, SoftBank went public, marking a significant milestone in its expansion. The mid-1990s saw Son making prescient investments in the nascent internet industry. In 1995, he invested $2 million in Yahoo!, a then-fledgling internet portal, and subsequently established Yahoo! Japan as a joint venture with Yahoo! Inc. in 1996, which grew to become one of Japan's most dominant internet properties. His most celebrated investment came in 2000 when he invested $20 million in the then-unknown Chinese e-commerce startup Alibaba Group. This investment would eventually grow to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars, becoming one of the most successful venture capital bets in history. Throughout the 2000s, SoftBank aggressively expanded into the telecommunications sector. In 2006, SoftBank acquired Vodafone K.K., the Japanese subsidiary of Vodafone, for approximately $15 billion, rebranding it as SoftBank Mobile and transforming it into a major mobile carrier in Japan. In 2013, Son orchestrated the acquisition of a controlling stake in the American telecommunications company Sprint Corporation for roughly $21.6 billion, aiming to challenge the duopoly of AT&T and Verizon. Although a planned merger with T-Mobile US faced regulatory hurdles for years, it eventually received approval in 2020, with SoftBank becoming a major shareholder in the combined entity, T-Mobile. In 2016, SoftBank made another monumental acquisition, purchasing ARM Holdings, a leading British semiconductor design company, for approximately $32 billion. A year later, in 2017, Son launched the SoftBank Vision Fund, a colossal private equity fund, initially raising over $100 billion from investors including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company. The Vision Fund aimed to invest in late-stage technology startups globally, making substantial bets on companies like Uber, WeWork, Didi Chuxing, and DoorDash, among many others. While some investments have been highly successful, others, notably WeWork, faced significant challenges, leading to scrutiny and substantial write-downs. Despite these setbacks, Son continued with the launch of Vision Fund 2, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to his long-term investment strategy in disruptive technologies.

Major Achievements

Masayoshi Son's career is marked by several groundbreaking achievements. He built SoftBank Group from a small software distributor into a global technology investment powerhouse with a market capitalization often exceeding $100 billion. His early investments in Yahoo! and particularly Alibaba are considered legendary in the venture capital world, generating unprecedented returns. The establishment of Yahoo! Japan cemented SoftBank's position in the Japanese internet market. His audacious move to acquire Vodafone Japan and then Sprint showcased his aggressive M&A strategy and ambition to compete globally in telecommunications. The acquisition of ARM Holdings positioned SoftBank at the heart of the semiconductor industry's future. Perhaps his most impactful recent achievement is the creation of the SoftBank Vision Fund, which fundamentally reshaped the landscape of technology investment by deploying unprecedented amounts of capital into startups, accelerating their growth and global reach, and influencing numerous industries from ride-sharing to artificial intelligence.

Personal Life

Masayoshi Son is married to Masami Ohno. The couple has two daughters. Despite his immense wealth and global prominence, Son is known for maintaining a relatively private personal life. He has often spoken about his early life struggles as a Zainichi Korean and how it fueled his ambition and resilience. He is also known for his philanthropic efforts, especially after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, when he pledged a significant portion of his personal wealth and future salary to support victims and promote renewable energy. He is an avid proponent of renewable energy and has invested in solar power projects through SoftBank.

Legacy

Masayoshi Son's legacy is defined by his extraordinary vision, audacious risk-taking, and transformative impact on the global technology and investment landscape. He is often compared to legendary investors like Warren Buffett, though with a distinct focus on disruptive technology and a willingness to make very large, concentrated bets. He has cultivated a reputation as a long-term strategic thinker, often predicting technological shifts years in advance. His 'information revolution' philosophy, aiming to connect people and information, has guided SoftBank's diverse investments. Despite facing controversies and significant financial challenges with certain investments, his unwavering belief in the potential of technology to change the world, coupled with his aggressive investment strategies, has cemented his status as one of the most influential business figures of the 21st century. His work with the Vision Fund has democratized access to capital for a generation of tech entrepreneurs, fundamentally altering the growth trajectory of countless startups and shaping the future of global industries.