Money makers: Masayoshi Son’s grand bet on tech

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son embarks on his latest grand project with his Vision Fund. Chris Carter reports.

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Masayoshi Son: no stranger to risk
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Masayoshi Son founded SoftBank in 1981 to distribute software in Tokyo. He had two part-time employees. On day one, the diminutive Son stood on two apple cartons and announced that in five years the firm would have $75m in sales, says The Economist. They thought "this guy must be crazy", Son later admitted. His two workers quit. But his drive and ambition would eventually lead to SoftBank distributing 80% of PC software in Japan.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.