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SoftBank was founded by Masayoshi Son. It was originally a tech company that resold software (imagine Steam but for desktop apps), but very quickly it morphed i

SoftBank was founded by Masayoshi Son. It was originally a tech company that resold software (imagine Steam but for desktop apps), but very quickly it morphed into something like a PE firm that would do continual leveraged buyouts of existing firms. They've bought companies that run conferences, tech magazines, one of their more formative M & A deals was to buy the Japanese Vodafone arm. Many of these deals actually went pretty poorly, with Masayoshi overpaying for the firms he bought and then being saddled with very large debts to repay the loans. Masa was wiped out and faced bankruptcy multiple times. Later on the would move away from leveraged buyouts and start investing in startups more similar to how a VC firm would in the US. He notably invested early in Yahoo and Alibaba. The company is not a sovereign fund - it's really run at the behest of it's founder. If you want to read more about the story, there was recently a great biography that chronicled the story: Gambling Man (https://www.amazon.com/Gambling-Man-Greatest-Disruptor-Masayoshi/dp/166807074X https://www.amazon.com/Gambling-Man-Greatest-Disruptor-Masay...)

flakiness 2y ago
And it's so un-Japanese. See what the Japanese government (or old power in Japan) has been spending the money on recently: - Honda-Nissan merger (failed) - Seven Eleven counter buyout https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/the-fight-for-7-eleven-isnt-just-about-money-d1af6db9 https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/the-fight-for-7-eleven-i... Masayoshi Son is in a different league, for good or bad.
- alephnerd 2y ago
  > old power in Japan) has been spending the money on recently Investing in SoftBank. MUFG, the Custody Bank, and Master Trust all have significant ownership stakes in SoftBank, and most Japanese conglomerates like NTT, NEC, etc tend to work closely with SoftBank on strategic deals
  - flakiness 2y ago
    Wow I thought the Softbank money came from mostly overseas. Good to know. (Drop me some reference links if you don't mind.)
- caycep 2y ago
  I think he is Korean, that may account for the cultural differences
  - uxp100 2y ago
    Yes, Ethnically Korean, his grandparents were immigrants. As for cultural differences, I think you could credit his extensive time spent living in the US as much as the immigrant Korean culture.
  - makeitdouble 2y ago
    Japan has a weird split between Japanese nationals, Korean special residents, and actual foreigners (including "normal" Korean immigrants). It's a whole can of worm I'll only leave here for any else to open, but Son Masayoshi was born in Japan from parents who might have formerly been Japanese (Korea was a Japanese colony) depending on the circumstances. Many people in similar cases are basically undistinguishable from regular Japanese nationals culturally speaking.

flakiness 2y ago

And it's so un-Japanese. See what the Japanese government (or old power in Japan) has been spending the money on recently: - Honda-Nissan merger (failed) - Seven Eleven counter buyout https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/the-fight-for-7-eleven-isnt-just-about-money-d1af6db9 https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/the-fight-for-7-eleven-i... Masayoshi Son is in a different league, for good or bad.

alephnerd 2y ago
> old power in Japan) has been spending the money on recently Investing in SoftBank. MUFG, the Custody Bank, and Master Trust all have significant ownership stakes in SoftBank, and most Japanese conglomerates like NTT, NEC, etc tend to work closely with SoftBank on strategic deals
- flakiness 2y ago
  Wow I thought the Softbank money came from mostly overseas. Good to know. (Drop me some reference links if you don't mind.)
caycep 2y ago
I think he is Korean, that may account for the cultural differences
- uxp100 2y ago
  Yes, Ethnically Korean, his grandparents were immigrants. As for cultural differences, I think you could credit his extensive time spent living in the US as much as the immigrant Korean culture.
- makeitdouble 2y ago
  Japan has a weird split between Japanese nationals, Korean special residents, and actual foreigners (including "normal" Korean immigrants). It's a whole can of worm I'll only leave here for any else to open, but Son Masayoshi was born in Japan from parents who might have formerly been Japanese (Korea was a Japanese colony) depending on the circumstances. Many people in similar cases are basically undistinguishable from regular Japanese nationals culturally speaking.