Masayoshi Son (Masayoshi Son)

Masayoshi Son (Masayoshi Son)

Biography

2019: Loss of $130 million on bitcoin investments

On April 23, 2019, it became known about the large losses of Masayoshi Son from investing in bitcoin. According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), when the value of cryptocurrency was at its peak at the end of 2017, the founder of SoftBank bought it. However, subsequently bitcoin fell in price, Son sold his assets in early 2018, losing $130 million.

As knowledgeable people told the newspaper, Masayoshi Son invested in cryptocurrency on the recommendation of billionaire Peter Briger, whose investment company Fortress Investment Group was acquired by SoftBank in 2017. Exactly how much personal money Son spent is unknown.

When Son bought bitcoins, the cryptocurrency exchange rate exceeded $20 thousand. By April 24, 2019, it is about $5,500, having risen from $4,000 at the beginning of the month.

Fortress began investing in cryptocurrency back in 2013 and by the time of the deal with the Japanese company owned bitcoins worth more than $150 million. SoftBank under the transaction ordered Fortress to get rid of cryptocurrency, writes WSJ.

According to WSJ interlocutors, the entrepreneur, who by April 23, 2019 ranks second in the ranking of the richest people in Japan with a fortune of $19 billion (Bloomberg data), likes to make risky bets and make quick decisions. A businessman could decide to invest millions of dollars in companies after brief meetings with their founders and management.

SoftBank, Masayoshi Son and Peter Briger declined to comment on requests from Western media.

By April 2019, SoftBank is considered the world's largest venture finance company. Its total assets are estimated at $190 billion. Thanks to Son's focus on long-term investments in technology companies, the $100 billion Vision Fund investment fund was launched.^[1]

2020

Masayoshi Son compared himself to Jesus, explaining the loss of $17.7 billion

The investment division of the Vision Fund bank with assets of $100 billion lost almost $18 billion for the 2019 fiscal year. This is the worst indicator of the company in all 39 years of its existence. The loss is mainly caused by unsuccessful investments in Uber (losses amounted to $5.2 billion) and WeWork (- $4.6 billion). During a conversation with investors, Son was reproached for making such significant financial losses. In response, he stated that Jesus was also subjected to misunderstandings and criticism.

Experience investing in bitcoin

In mid-November 2020, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son admitted that he "does not understand bitcoin," and that he spent a significant part of his time tracking cryptocurrency price charts during the period of investing in it.

Son shared his experience investing in bitcoin at The New York Times DealBook conference. The head of Softbank said that his friend advised him to invest "1% of his personal assets" in bitcoin. This means that Son has invested about $200 million in the flagship cryptocurrency. Having invested, Son promised that he would spend about five minutes every day watching the fluctuations in the price of bitcoin.

Masayoshi Son shared his experience investing in bitcoin

Son did not hide that investments in cryptocurrency began to distract his attention from his main business, he was quickly tired of checking the price of bitcoin every day and the distraction from monitoring schedules led to the investor selling his stake. According to his estimates, he lost about $50 million. According to the Wall Street Journal, which refers to sources familiar with the topic of investing the head of Softbank in Bitcoin, Son lost about $130 million.

The Japanese billionaire bought cryptocurrency at the end of 2017, then the cost of bitcoin was approximately $20 thousand. Son decided to sell crypto funds in early 2018, when the price of cryptocurrency collapsed sharply.

After the sale of bitcoin funds, Son, according to him, feels much better. Nevertheless, he does not believe that bitcoin or other digital currencies will disappear from the life of mankind in the near future. Son himself intends to focus his attention on other projects.

I think the digital currency will be useful, "Son said. But I don't know what digital currency, what structure, and so on.

During his speech, Son addressed a variety of topics, including giving up his intentions to invest in Tesla and Amazon.^[2]

2024: Creation of Izanagi Company

On February 19, 2024, it became known that the founder of the Japanese telecommunications corporation SoftBank Masayoshi Son created a company for the production of specialized chips for artificial intelligence systems. Investments in a project called Izanagi are estimated at $100 billion, and new products can compete with Nvidia GPU-based solutions. Read more here.

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