Masayoshi Son

Okay, so picture a five-foot-three kid from Tosu, Saga, drawing up a "50-year life plan" at nineteen and then... actually pulling it off. That's the thing about Masayoshi Son that I can't get over. Most of us dream big after a couple of beers; this guy goes and drops a couple trillion yen on Vodafone Japan or ARM like he's grabbing a vending-machine coffee. He builds SoftBank from scratch, co-launches Yahoo Japan, and never once flinches in a room full of giants. Sure, he's taken massive swings and eaten some massive losses too, but he just comes back hungrier with an even crazier dream. Whether you find him visionary or terrifying, that "think big, aim high" energy is infectious, and honestly, I half-believe him every time.

Masayoshi Son was born on August 11, 1957, in Tosu, Saga, Japan, and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in economics in 1980. He founded Japan SoftBank Corp. in 1981, growing it into the SoftBank Group — a global technology investment and telecommunications conglomerate. Over the following decades he spearheaded major acquisitions including Yahoo Japan (1996), Vodafone Japan (2006), and Arm Holdings (2016). He has been recognized by Forbes and TIME magazine among the world's most influential people in business and artificial intelligence.

Name (English)

Masayoshi Son

Name (Japanese)

孫正義

Reading

そん まさよし

Born

August 11, 1957 (age 68)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Leo / Rooster

Origin

Tosu, Saga, Japan

Blood type

O

Height

160 cm

Agency

SoftBank Group Corp. (Representative Director, Chairman and CEO)

Active years

1981–present

Occupation

Entrepreneur / Investor / Businessperson

Elementary school

Kitakyushu Municipal Hikino Elementary School

Junior high

Fukuoka Municipal Jonan Junior High School

High school

Kurume University High School (withdrew)

University

University of California, Berkeley, Department of Economics (graduated 1980)

Debut

1981 — Founded Japan SoftBank Corp. and began career as an entrepreneur

Awards & achievements

• 2013 Forbes "The World's 100 Most Powerful People" (No. 45)
• 2016 Forbes "The World's Most Powerful People" (No. 53)
• 2017 The Asian Awards — Entrepreneur of the Year
• 2024 TIME "100 Most Influential People in AI"

Timeline

1. 1957Born in Tosu, Saga, Japan
2. 1977Enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley (skipped grades)
3. 1979Married Masami Ohno
4. 1980Graduated from UC Berkeley, Department of Economics
5. 1981Founded Japan SoftBank Corp.
6. 1994Listed SoftBank shares over-the-counter; participated in founding of Yahoo Japan
7. 2001Acquired Japan Telecom; launched broadband service as Yahoo BB
8. 2004Became Representative Owner and Director of Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
9. 2006Acquired Vodafone Japan for approximately ¥1.75 trillion, entering the mobile phone business
10. 2016Acquired Arm Holdings for approximately ¥3.3 trillion

Spouse

Masami Ohno (married 1979)

Children

Two daughters (publicly acknowledged)

Parents

Private

Siblings

Elder brother Masaaki Son; younger brothers Masanori Son and Taizo Son (founder of GungHo)

Hobbies

• Research into new technologies and business models

Specialties

• Management strategy
• Investment decision-making

Motto

Aim High (志高く)

• Official sitehttps://www.softbank.jp/corp/aboutus/profile/officer/son/
• Xhttps://x.com/masason
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AD%AB%E6%AD%A3%E7%BE%A9

Tags

• Entrepreneur
• SoftBank Group
• From Saga
• Zainichi Korean
• IT Entrepreneur
• UC Berkeley
• Investor

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.