In certain Japanese companies, founder-presidents are sometimes referred to as “kamisama”, or “god”, says the Financial Times. Not all deserve the title, but Masayoshi Son, the irrepressible founder of SoftBank, “has been Japan’s archetypal kamisama for decades. He has led, inspired and been worshipped.” To support the faithful, “Masa” has appeared to perform miracles – his early $20m investment in the Chinese ecommerce start-up Alibaba is now worth around $140bn and considered “among the greatest in tech history”, for example. Which might help explain why – when unveiling the worst loss in SoftBank’s history last week – Son compared himself to Jesus, noting that the Messiah was also “misunderstood and criticised” yet managed to bounce back. Time, he said, would show the value of his investments.
An extraordinary resurrection
Son has always strived “to think big”, says The Japan Times. In 2010, “he laid out SoftBank’s strategy for the next 300 years”. But his most ambitious project yet – the $100bn Vision Fund, conceived as a vehicle to propel SoftBank to the forefront of emerging technologies like AI and robotics – has been floundering. The fund has suffered some $18bn in losses, led by heavy blows to Son’s flagship investments in tech firms such as WeWork and Uber. And while SoftBank itself is still very much alive and kicking (shares have rebounded 71% since their March lows), there are mutterings that Masa has lost his magic touch.
Son, 62, has “an unshakeable belief in his own convictions”, says The New York Times: “He once threatened to set himself on fire in the offices of a Japanese telecom regulator unless policymakers gave him what he wanted”. His stubbornness is perhaps a legacy of being born into a family of second-generation Korean immigrants and being bullied as a child.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
The first big break came early, when Son took advantage of a study-abroad programme and flew to California at the age of 16 to attend college, says Forbes. From there, he transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in economics and met his future wife. Clearly no slouch, he was already in the money by the time he graduated in 1980. After selling an electronic-translator patent to Sharp, he made more than $1m importing refurbished arcade machines. The following year, he returned to Japan to start a business designed as a “software bank” – SoftBank.
In an attempt to pivot away from his current difficulties, Son often invokes the past, says Forbes. As well as citing his Alibaba coup, he can also point to his extraordinary resurrection 20 years ago. No one made more riding the dotcom bubble via investments such as E-Trade and Yahoo – “for three days at the bubble’s peak, Son has claimed he was the richest man in the world”. And no one lost more. By the time the bubble burst SoftBank had lost 99% of its market cap. Yet, within a decade, he had earned his billions back. He thinks the same will happen this time around. Is he “the ultimate escape artist”, preparing for his third act? Or just “a bubble chaser”? History will judge.
-
How to do a mid-retirement MOTYou may have heard of a midlife MOT, but experts say a mid-retirement MOT is also essential to ensure your finances are on track and your pension savings last as long as you do
-
Burberry’s share price surges despite collapsing profits and job cuts announcementBurberry’s share price has soared, despite collapsing profits and around 1,700 jobs potentially set to be cut, as markets assess the turnaround plan’s effectiveness
-
Trapped in a time of zombie governmentIt’s not just companies that are eking out an existence, says Max King. The state is in the twilight zone too.
-
America is in deep denial over debtThe downgrade in America’s credit rating was much criticised by the US government, says Alex Rankine. But was it a long time coming?
-
Bank of England raises interest rates to 5.25%The Bank has hiked rates from 5% to 5.25%, marking the 14th increase in a row. We explain what it means for savers and homeowners - and whether more rate rises are on the horizon
-
UK inflation remains at 8.7% ‒ what it means for your moneyInflation was unmoved at 8.7% in the 12 months to May. What does this ‘sticky’ rate of inflation mean for your money?
-
VICE bankruptcy: how did it happen?Was the VICE bankruptcy inevitable? We look into how the once multibillion-dollar came crashing down.
-
Would a food price cap actually work?Analysis The government is discussing plans to cap the prices of essentials. But could this intervention do more harm than good?
-
UK inflation slides to 8.7% - what does it mean for your money?News Inflation has dropped below 10% for the first time in months, but with food prices at a 45-year high, is this good news and what does it mean for your money?
-
Why the UK equity market is shrinkingAnalysis The crisis has been building for 25 years, says Max King, and it will take decades to reverse the trend.
