History of Masayoshi Son in Timeline
Masayoshi Son is a renowned Japanese billionaire known for his contributions to technology, investment, and philanthropy. Born as a third-generation Zainichi Korean, he later became a Japanese citizen. He founded the SoftBank Group Corp., a prominent technology investment company where he holds various leadership roles. He also holds the position of chairman at Arm Holdings, a UK-based company.
August 1957: Birth of Masayoshi Son
Masayoshi Son was born in August 1957.
1979: Marriage and Family Life
Son married Masami Ohno in 1979, and they have two daughters.
1980: Masayoshi Son Graduates from Berkeley and Founds Unison World
Masayoshi Son graduated from Berkeley with a B.A. in Economics in 1980 and started a video game company called Unison World.
1981: SoftBank is Founded
Masayoshi Son founded SoftBank in 1981.
1981: SoftBank Corp. Founded
SoftBank Corp. was founded in 1981.
1990: Masayoshi Son Becomes a Japanese Citizen
Masayoshi Son, a third-generation Zainichi Korean, naturalized as a Japanese citizen in 1990.
1995: Masayoshi Son Invests in Yahoo!
Masayoshi Son bought a share of Yahoo! in 1995.
1995: SoftBank Invests in Yahoo!
SoftBank invested in Yahoo! in 1995.
1996: SoftBank Invests in Kingston Technology
SoftBank bought 80% of the shares of Kingston Technology in 1996.
1999: Masayoshi Son Invests in Alibaba
Masayoshi Son invested a $20 million stake into Alibaba in 1999.
1999: SoftBank Invests in Alibaba
SoftBank invested in Alibaba in 1999.
2000: Early Investment in Alibaba
Masayoshi Son invested $20 million in Jack Ma's Alibaba in 2000, marking an early success in his investment career.
2000: SoftBank Invests in Alibaba Group
In 2000, Masayoshi Son and SoftBank made an initial investment of $20 million in Alibaba Group.
2000: Dot Com Crash Impacts Masayoshi Son's Net Worth
During the dot com crash of 2000, Masayoshi Son lost more than $59 billion.
September 2001: Yahoo! BroadBand Founded
Masayoshi Son established Yahoo! BroadBand in September 2001 with Yahoo! Japan.
2011: Masayoshi Son Criticizes Nuclear Industry
Masayoshi Son criticized the nuclear industry in response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011.
2013: Masayoshi Son Ranked on Forbes' World's Most Powerful People
Masayoshi Son was ranked 45th on Forbes magazine's list of the World's Most Powerful People in 2013.
2014: Alibaba IPO
The Alibaba IPO took place in 2014.
2015: SoftBank Corp. Becomes SoftBank Group Corp.
The company name of SoftBank Corp. was changed to SoftBank Group Corp. in 2015.
July 2016: SoftBank Announces Plans to Acquire Arm Holdings
SoftBank announced plans to acquire Arm Holdings for £23.4 billion ($31.4 billion) in July 2016.
September 2016: SoftBank Acquires Arm Holdings
In September 2016, SoftBank completed the acquisition of Arm Holdings for approximately £24 billion ($34 billion).
2017: Launch of SoftBank Vision Fund
In 2017, Masayoshi Son established the SoftBank Vision Fund, a $100 billion investment vehicle, to fund emerging technologies.
2017: Rise as a Prominent Stock Investor
Son's global profile as a stock investor grew after establishing the SoftBank Vision Fund in 2017.
2017: First SoftBank Vision Fund Established
The first SoftBank Vision Fund was established in 2017.
March 2018: Masayoshi Son Invests in Saudi Arabian Solar Project
It was announced that Masayoshi Son was investing in a 200GW solar project planned for Saudi Arabia in March 2018.
July 2018: Masayoshi Son Invests in Renewable Energy in India
In July 2018, Masayoshi Son planned to underwrite most of 100 GW of a planned 275 GW of new renewable provision in India.
October 2018: SoftBank's Stake in Alibaba
SoftBank owned 29.5% of Alibaba, which was worth around $108.7 billion as of 23 October 2018.
2018: Masayoshi Son Ranked on Forbes' World's Most Powerful People
Masayoshi Son was ranked 55th on Forbes magazine's list of the World's Most Powerful People in 2018.
2018: SoftBank's Stake in Alibaba
By 2018, SoftBank's 27 percent stake in Alibaba was worth $132 billion.
2019: Expansion of SoftBank's Vision Fund
By 2019, SoftBank's Vision Fund aimed to increase its portfolio of AI companies from 70 to 125. A second Vision Fund was also created with a target of $108 billion.
2019: Second SoftBank Vision Fund Established
The second SoftBank Vision Fund was established in 2019.
June 2020: Masayoshi Son Steps Down from Alibaba Board
Masayoshi Son stepped down from the Alibaba board in June 2020.
September 2020: SoftBank Group Agrees to Sell Arm Limited to Nvidia
SoftBank Group agreed to sell Arm Limited to Nvidia in a cash and stock deal initially worth $40 billion in September 2020.
2020: Challenges and Fallout from the COVID-19 Pandemic
By 2020, SoftBank Vision Fund's portfolio experienced challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a Chinese regulatory crackdown.
2020: Sprint and T-Mobile US Merge
Sprint and T-Mobile US merged in 2020 in an all shares deal for $26 billion.
October 2021: Increased Investment Pace and Declining Investment Amount
By October 2021, Son had increased his startup investments, with the average investment per company in Vision Fund 2 decreasing compared to Vision Fund 1.
2021: SoftBank Group Corp. Acquires Stake in Deutsche Telekom AG
By 2021, SoftBank Group Corp. had acquired 4.5% of Deutsche Telekom AG.
2021: Masayoshi Son Steps Down as CEO of SoftBank Mobile
Masayoshi Son relinquished his position as CEO of SoftBank Mobile in 2021.
February 2022: Nvidia Deal Fails
The deal with Nvidia failed as announced in February 2022.
March 2022: Record Loss for SoftBank Vision Fund
SoftBank Vision Fund recorded a $27.4 billion loss for the financial year ending March 2022, attributed to a decline in its stock portfolio valuation.
August 2022: Public Apology and Criticism of SoftBank Vision Fund
In August 2022, Son expressed remorse over his management of the SoftBank Vision Fund, which faced criticism from financial publications.
November 2022: Personal Debt and Controversy Over Investment Losses
By November 2022, Son reportedly owed SoftBank $4.7 billion due to losses in tech investments, sparking controversy over corporate governance.
December 2022: Masayoshi Son's Stake in SoftBank
As of December 2022, Masayoshi Son had a 34.2% stake in SoftBank.
February 2023: Growing Personal Debt and Scrutiny Over Margin Loans
By February 2023, Son's personal debt had risen to $5.1 billion, and concerns arose over his use of SoftBank shares as collateral for margin loans.
March 2023: Concerns About SoftBank and Son's Financial Stability
In March 2023, amidst the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, there were concerns about the financial stability of SoftBank and Son due to the high percentage of his shares pledged as collateral.
2023: Arm Files for U.S. Stock Market Listing
After the collapse of the deal with Nvidia, SoftBank Group Corp's chip maker Arm filed in 2023 with regulators confidentially for a U.S. stock market listing.
2023: SoftBank Sells Most of its Stake in Alibaba
SoftBank had sold most of its Alibaba stake by 2023.
July 2024: Masayoshi Son Ranked on Forbes' World's Billionaires List
As of July 2024, Masayoshi Son ranks 49th on Forbes's list of The World's Billionaires.
2027: Renewable Energy in India
Masayoshi Son's investment is for a planned 275 GW of new renewable provision in India by 2027.
2030: Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030
Masayoshi Son's solar project is part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030.