Lampley 1
Masayoshi Son
They say he’s worth billions and many young entrepreneurs from Seoul to Silicon Valley
seek his cash and cachet. Some even call him Japan’s Bill Gate. Yet from his boyish charm and
a disarming grin you would never suspect this man to the man worth billions! The man being
described is none other than Masayoshi Son who is the founder, President, and Chief Executive
Officer of SOFTBANK Corp.
Mr. Son thought differently than most kids at his age he wanted to do something different,
he wanted to become someone. When Mr. Son was 16 years old, the second generation
Korean-Japanese moved from Japan to California to learn English. At the University of
California, Berkley, Son majored in economics and took some classes in computer. While in
School, Son earned his first million dollars by importing arcade games from Japan for the
campus.1 He also worked on the development of several computer games. This drive led him
further to inventing and the patenting a multilingual pocket translator which he sold to Sharp
1
Kelly, B. Gary et al. Page 3.37. Discovering Computers 2004.
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Corporation2. Because of Son’s great mind the translator became the prototype for Sharp’s
successful Wizard series. He also founded Unison, a computer company based in Oakland, CA
that is now owned by Kyocera. In the early 80’s after his return to Japan, Son founded the
company SOFTBANK CORP., which no one thought would succeed. Son’s plan for the company
was to leverage the power of the digital information revolution to make knowledge available to
people no matter whom or where they are and, by doing so, to foster the realization of a better life
for all.
Today Son is promoting various broadband businesses anchored by Yahoo. He also is a
leading member of Japan’s Prime Minister’s IT strategy Council. Even though he is high in the
“corporation food chain” he is often criticized for having to much investment in the U.S. internet
companies. But of course Son doesn’t see a problem with this. Since 1995, Softbank has spent
$3.8 billion dollars to acquire stakes in 300 companies, such as Yahoo. Now, Son is lining up an
additional $2 billion to expand Softbank in Europe, China, and Latin America 3. Although some
may think Son’s strategy is far from proven. He did not get to where he is right now by playing it
safe! His placing of hundreds of bets on a host of technologies, instead of grabbing a controlling
interest in a few, is the only way to stay ahead in the ever-changing world of digital technology.
That’s probably why he has one of the world’s least expensive but highest performance ADSL
service. Also having Yahoo Japan as the biggest portal in Japan also helps too. This man
obviously knows what he’s doing! Softbank is and will continue to be, one of the leading
comprehensive broadband service companies in the world. Son may ultimately overreach, but for
right now he is living on the edge and grinning boyishly all the while. In other words, “HE IS DA
MAN”!

Considered one of the Top 5 Personalities in Finance.

He is only 42 years old!

He founded Softbank Corporation when he was only 23 years old.
Vocabulary Words
2
3
Definitions
Http://.sbcap.com/pages/team/son.html.
Http://allperson.com/allperson/legend/0000000022.asp.
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Lampley 3
ADSL Server
Type of DSL that supports faster transfer rates
when receiving data (the downstream rate)
than when sending data (the upstream rate).
Digital
Representation of data using only two discrete
states: positive and nonpositive.
Pocket Translator
Translator small enough to fit in your pocket.
Helps you understand or interpret different
languages.
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Bibliography
Kelly, B Gary et al. Discovering Computers 2004. Boston, MA: Shelly Cashman Series, 2004.
Masayoshi Son Bibliography. Soft Bank, Capital Partners. 2003
http://www.sbcap.com/pages/team/son.htm.
Masayoshi Son Bibliography. All Person .com.
http://www.allperson.com/allperson/legend/0000000022.asp.
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