Masayoshi Son
Born 1957 · Age 69
Japanese entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist; founder, chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group; major investor in Alibaba and founder of the SoftBank Vision Fund.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Tosu, Saga Prefecture
Born Masayoshi Yasumoto to Zainichi Korean parents in Tosu, Saga, Japan.
Moved to Oakland, California (age 16)
Dropped out of high school in Japan and moved to Oakland to study English and pursue further education (inspired by advice from Den Fujita).
Rapidly finished U.S. high school
Studied English at Holy Names College program and graduated high school in three weeks after attending Serramonte High School.
Enrolled at University of California, Berkeley
Enrolled at UC Berkeley to study economics (later graduated in 1980).
Sold electronic translator to Sharp (~$1.7M)
As a student, created an electronic translator (with help from faculty including Forrest Mozer) and sold it to Sharp for about $1.7 million.
Imported retro video game machines, earned ~$1.5M
Imported used video game machines from Japan on credit, installed them in dormitories and restaurants, and made about $1.5M.
Founded Unison World (video game company)
Started a video game company in Oakland called Unison World while at Berkeley.
Married Masami Ohno
Married Masami Ohno, whom he met while both were students at UC Berkeley.
Sold Unison World (~$2M)
Sold Unison World to an associate for approximately $2 million; the business was later acquired by Kyocera.
Graduated UC Berkeley (BA Economics)
Completed undergraduate degree in economics at UC Berkeley.
Adopted Korean surname 'Son' professionally
After returning to Japan, he publicly used his Korean surname Son instead of his family's Japanese surname Yasumoto for professional purposes.
Diagnosed with hepatitis B; given five years to live
In his early twenties he contracted hepatitis B and was told he had only a few years to live; he underwent treatment and recovered.
Founded Nihon SoftBank (SoftBank Group)
Founded Nihon SoftBank (now SoftBank Group Corp.) as a software distributor and publisher of computer-related literature.
Profiled in Harvard Business Review interview (1992)
Subject of a detailed interview in Harvard Business Review describing his Japanese-style entrepreneurship and early SoftBank growth.
Early investment in Yahoo!
Bought an early share of Yahoo! (one of SoftBank's early internet investments).
Invested ~$20M in Alibaba Group
Made an early ~$20 million investment in Jack Ma's Alibaba when it was a young Chinese startup (often cited as 1999/2000 in sources).
Became briefly the richest person; dot-com crash follows
At one point around the dot-com boom he was briefly the world's richest person; the 2000 crash caused massive paper losses for him and SoftBank.
Lost >$59B during dot‑com crash (personal loss)
Reported to have lost more than $59 billion during the 2000 dot-com crash when SoftBank shares plunged.
Yahoo! BB acquires Japan Telecom (subscriber milestone)
Yahoo! BB (SoftBank) acquired Japan Telecom, then the 3rd largest broadband/landline provider with 600,000 residential and 170,000 commercial subscribers.
Established Yahoo! BB with Yahoo! Japan
Launched Yahoo! BroadBand (Yahoo! BB) in September 2001 in partnership with Yahoo! Japan; SoftBank retained controlling interest.
SoftBank acquires Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (SoftBank Hawks ownership)
SoftBank acquired the professional baseball team (commonly known as the SoftBank Hawks); Son became owner through SoftBank (purchase year widely reported as 2005).
Purchased Fukuoka-based professional baseball team (SoftBank Hawks)
SoftBank (under Son) purchased the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (became SoftBank Hawks), expanding the group's sports and media footprint.
Director, Alibaba.com Corporation (SoftBank site: Oct 2005)
Listed by SoftBank as becoming a director of Alibaba.com Corporation (which later became Alibaba Group Holding Limited).
Chairman of Board, President & CEO of Vodafone K.K. (Apr 2006)
SoftBank acquired Vodafone Japan and Son assumed leadership roles at Vodafone K.K. (now SoftBank Corp).
Pledged ¥10 billion to Tohoku earthquake/tsunami relief
Following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster/2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Son pledged 10 billion yen and his remaining salary until retirement to help victims.
Placed #45 on Forbes' World's Most Powerful People (2013)
Forbes ranked Son 45th on its list of the World's Most Powerful People in 2013.
SoftBank buys majority stake in Sprint (2010s; reported 2013)
Through SoftBank, Son bought a majority stake (reported ~76%) in Sprint during the 2010s (widely reported purchase year is 2013).
Alibaba stake valuation surge (~$75B by 2014)
SoftBank's early $20M Alibaba investment had ballooned; sources cite the investment reaching a valuation of around $75 billion by 2014 after Alibaba's IPO.
Acquired Woodside, California property (~$117M)
Reported purchase of a Silicon Valley-area home in Woodside, California, costing approximately $117 million (date approximate based on reporting).
Tokyo mansion valued at ~$85M (residence)
Reported ownership of a three-story Tokyo mansion in Minato valued at about $85 million with a high-tech golf range.
Announced acquisition of Arm Holdings (£23.4B)
Following the UK's Brexit referendum, SoftBank announced plans in July 2016 to buy UK-based Arm Holdings for £23.4 billion (reported ~$31.4B).
Completed acquisition of Arm Holdings (~£24B)
SoftBank completed the Arm transaction in September 2016 for a total acquisition price reported at approximately £24 billion (~$34B).
Established the SoftBank Vision Fund ($100B)
SoftBank launched the Vision Fund in 2017, an approximately $100 billion investment vehicle targeting AI, robotics, IoT and other emerging tech.
Named Entrepreneur of the Year at The Asian Awards
Recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year at The Asian Awards (2017).
Public pledge to invest $50B and create 50,000 U.S. jobs (2016/2017 period referenced)
High-profile announcements (including a widely covered 2016/2017 moment) promised large U.S. investment and job creation; used to raise SoftBank's global profile (date references vary across sources).
Named Chairman & CEO, SoftBank Group Corp. (June 2017)
Listed by SoftBank as Chairman & CEO of the reorganized SoftBank Group Corp.
SoftBank's Alibaba stake reported worth ~$132B (2018)
Sources reported SoftBank's reported stake in Alibaba (cited as ~27-29%) was worth roughly $132 billion in 2018 (reflects additional purchases since 2000).
Announced investment in Saudi 200GW solar project (Mar 2018)
Reported that Son was investing in a planned 200GW solar development in Saudi Arabia as part of Vision 2030.
Underwriting large renewable capacity in India (Jul 2018)
Coverage indicated Son would underwrite most of 100GW of planned new renewable provision in India by 2027.
Created second Vision Fund (targeted $108B)
SoftBank created Vision Fund 2 in 2019 with a target of $108 billion (SoftBank planned to contribute ~$38B); scale was later reduced due to lack of partners.
Vision Fund planned to nearly double AI portfolio (2019)
As of 2019 the Vision Fund aimed to increase its portfolio of AI companies from about 70 to 125.
Sprint and T-Mobile US merger announced/completed (2020)
Sprint and T-Mobile US merged in 2020 in an all-shares deal worth roughly $26 billion; SoftBank later reduced U.S. carrier holdings.
Stepped down from Alibaba board (June 2020)
Masayoshi Son stepped down from the Alibaba board, defending his investing record.
Announced sale of Arm to Nvidia (~$40B deal)
SoftBank agreed to sell Arm to Nvidia in September 2020 in a cash-and-stock deal initially reported at $40 billion.
Representative Director, Corporate Officer, Chairman & CEO (Nov 2020)
SoftBank site lists Son as Representative Director, Corporate Officer, Chairman & CEO (Nov 2020 to present).
Vision Fund portfolio expands and faces scrutiny
By 2021 Vision Fund 1 had invested in dozens of companies (Coupang, Didi, DoorDash, WeWork, OYO, etc.) but also delivered high-profile losses (WeWork, Katerra, Greensill).
SoftBank began cutting deals, Vision Fund 2 investment pace increases
By Oct 2021, Son had accelerated investments, quintupling Vision Fund 2 companies in under 9 months while average check size dropped.
Board Director, Founder, SoftBank Corp. (Apr 2021)
SoftBank site lists Son as Board Director and Founder of SoftBank Corp. (April 2021, to present).
Vision Fund posts record ¥3.5T loss (FY ended Mar 31, 2022)
SoftBank Vision Fund posted a record loss of 3.5 trillion yen (~$27.4 billion) for fiscal year ended March 31, 2022.
Media criticism and governance scrutiny intensify (2022)
Major outlets labeled the Vision Fund a 'failed experiment' and SoftBank a 'big loser' after large write-downs and bets gone wrong.
Nvidia-Arm deal collapsed (Feb 2022)
The planned sale of Arm to Nvidia fell apart in February 2022 amid regulatory objections in the U.S. and EU.
Public embarrassment over Vision Fund performance (Aug 2022)
In August 2022 Son publicly expressed being 'embarrassed' and 'ashamed' over the management of the Vision Fund as media criticized the fund's losses.
Reported personal debt to SoftBank ~$4.7B (Nov 2022)
Financial Times reported Son personally owed SoftBank about $4.7 billion because of side deals and growing losses on tech bets.
SoftBank sold most of its Alibaba stake (by 2023)
By 2023 SoftBank had sold down most of its Alibaba shareholding as reported by Financial Times.
Personal debt rises to ~$5.1B (Feb 2023)
Bloomberg calculations based on company disclosures indicated Son's personal debt to SoftBank totaled about $5.1 billion by February 2023.
Posted >1/3 of SoftBank shares as collateral (Mar 2023)
By March 2023, over a third of Son's SoftBank shares were reported posted as collateral for margin loans amid share-price weakness.
Arm files confidential IPO registration (2023)
After the Nvidia deal collapse, Arm filed confidentially in 2023 for a U.S. IPO seeking to raise between $8B and $10B.
Appointed Chairman and Director, Arm Holdings plc (Aug 2023)
SoftBank site lists Son as Chairman and Director of Arm Holdings plc from August 2023 (to present).
Included in Time 100 AI list (2024)
Time included Masayoshi Son in its list of the 100 most influential people in AI for 2024.
Forbes net worth reported (~$28.7B, reported by a 2024 article)
Some sources reported Son's net worth around $28.7 billion in 2024 (figures vary by publication).
Named Chairman of Stargate (Jan 2025)
In January 2025 Son was named chairman of The Stargate Project, an AI infrastructure joint venture formed by SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and MGX.
Forbes/Bloomberg rankings (May 2025)
As of May 2025, Son was ranked 65th on Forbes' The World's Billionaires list and No.177 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
SoftBank site: re-confirmed roles and shareholding (page as of Jun 27, 2025)
SoftBank's corporate biography (as of June 27, 2025) lists founding Nihon SoftBank (Sept 1981), director roles and that Son holds 426,661,164 shares (as of Mar 31, 2025).
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