Alibaba Jackpot

Softbank Chairman Masayoshi Son (left) and Alibaba chairman Ma Yun.
Softbank Chairman Masayoshi Son (left) and Alibaba chairman Ma Yun.

 

Softbank Chairman Masayoshi Son has become the richest person in Japan thanks to his shares in Alibaba.

In the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI) published on Sept. 17 (local time), he recorded net assets of US$16.6 billion, followed by Fast Retailing Chairman Tadashi Yanai with total assets of US$16.2 billion.

Softbank is the largest shareholder of Alibaba, the largest e-commerce company in China, which is scheduled to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange soon. Softbank owns 34 percent of the shares of Alibaba, the value of which is estimated at US$50 billion.

Mr. Masayoshi Son first met Alibaba Chairman Ma Yun back in 2000, introduced by Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang. At that time, Alibaba was just one of many less-known portal sites. Chairman Ma Yun explained about his business at Softbank’s regular meeting with companies wishing for investment. Mr. Masayoshi Son decided to invest US$20 million in Alibaba on the spot, which is a well-known episode.

Then, the Softbank chairman increased his investment to US$100 million. When e-Bay entered the Chinese market in 2003, Alibaba repealed the fees on the Taobao shopping mall and allowed free ads for a successful defense. Alibaba has been on a roll since then, and is about to be listed on the NYSE, netting him a huge payout.

He is a self-made billionaire and is excellent in picking out promising IT venture firms. This is why he has the nickname of the “Bill Gates of Asia” or the “Warren Buffet of Asia.” He is dreaming of building a telecoms empire covering the entire world. Softbank has recently acquired Sprint and attempted to take over T Mobile via Sprint.

Copyright © BusinessKorea. Prohibited from unauthorized reproduction and redistribution