The Wild Ride of Japan’s Masayoshi Son

Gambling Man

Lionel Barber, editor of the Financial Times (2005-20), is an author, broadcaster and lecturer. During four decades as an award-winning journalist, he has interviewed many world leaders and leading CEOs. He is a regular visitor to Japan.

Japan&rsquo;s Masayoshi Son has made and lost several fortunes, investing or controlling assets worth $1trn in the past two decades through his media-tech giant, SoftBank. He bankrolled Alibaba, China&rsquo;s internet colossus, before the world had heard about it; plotted with Steve Jobs to turn the iPhone into a wonder product; and financed hundreds of tech start-ups, fuelling the biggest boom Silicon Valley has ever seen. 
 
This book takes you on Masa&rsquo;s wild ride, from his birthplace in a Korean slum in post-war Japan to the modern-day temples of power. It speeds through Donald Trump&rsquo;s golden skyscraper in Manhattan, the royal palaces of Riyadh and the throne rooms of China&rsquo;s Marxist rulers; all places where Masa has deployed his unique blend of techno-optimism, financial engineering and insane risk-taking. 
 
In his own words: Masa is the world&rsquo;s craziest investor. He spent billions supporting the visions of founders like WeWork&rsquo;s Adam Neumann only to lose everything. Yet, despite the reverses, he&rsquo;s never abandoned his belief that technology, particularly artificial Intelligence, will change our lives for the better. 
 
Masa&rsquo;s story captures a 25 year-span of hyper-globalisation in which money, technologies and ideas flowed freely. He&rsquo;s made billions and lost billions during the dot.com bust, the global financial crisis, and the Covid pandemic. His is a story of constant reinvention and perpetual motion, ever seeking the Next Big Thing. 
 
As an ethnic Korean in Japan, Masa has overcome adversity and discrimination to become Japan&rsquo;s best known businessman and empire-builder but he remains an elusive, intensely private figure, an enigma to the western world. This book reveals the man behind the money, what drives him, why he matters, and what he plans for his next act.

Lionel Barber

A Second Helping

Lunch with the FT has been a permanent fixture in the Financial Times for almost 30 years, featuring presidents, film stars, musical icons and business leaders from around the world. 
 
The column is now a well-established institution, which has reinvigorated the art of conversation in the convivial, intimate environment of a long and boozy lunch. 
 
This new and updated edition includes lunches with: 
Elon Musk 
Donald Trump 
Hilary Mantel 
Richard Branson 
Zadie Smith 
Nigel Farage 
Russell Brand 
David Guetta 
Yanis Varoufakis 
Jean-Claude Juncker 
Gwyneth Paltrow 
Rebecca Solnit 
Jordan Peterson 
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 
And more...

Lionel Barber

Lunch with the FT

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