A new profile of Mayoshi Son in the Financial Times begins with the SoftBank CEO seemingly hitting rock bottom, staring at his “ugly” face on Zoom and telling himself, “I haven’t done anything to be proud of.”
The scene is presented as a prelude to a much-anticipated comeback, as Son has largely disappeared from the public eye after SoftBank’s Vision Fund suffered massive losses on investments like WeWork. Lionel Barber, author of a new biography of Son, “Gambling Man,” says Son “appeared to be penitent,” but in reality “was planning a comeback.”
Now SoftBank is betting big on AI, and has found success by taking chip design company Arm public. But despite AI, Son admits, “I think we’re probably a little bit too early.”
In addition to the details of Son’s investment strategy and track record, there are some interesting personal details, such as his apparent fascination with Napoleon. When the activist investor mentioned Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg in a meeting with Son in 2020, he reportedly dismissed them as “people who are only focused on one business.”
“The best comparisons for me are Napoleon, Genghis Khan and Qin Shi Huang,” Son said. “I’m not a CEO. I’m building an empire.”
