At the age of 19, Masayoshi son, who was still studying at the University of California in the United States, made this life plan for himself:

"in any case, when you are in your 20s, you officially start a business and become famous; when you are in your 30s, you have to earn at least 100 billion yen; when you are in your 40s, you start to do something big; when you are in your 50s, you achieve great things; when you are in your sixties, you hand over the baton to the next manager. "

Son, 63, is at the helm of the Softbank Corp. Group, which has an annual net profit of 4.9879 trillion yen in fiscal year 2020, and his latest fortune is $41.6 billion, making him the richest man in Japan.

Make a name for yourself, achieve a great cause, and earn 100 billion yen. These life goals written in youth fantasies have now been achieved one by one.

For son,Finding a suitable successor has become an important issue for me in the next 10 years.：

"the most difficult thing is to pick the pick-up. At first, the idea was to lock in the successor at the age of 60. If you can, the 60-year-old does not directly retire, and now the medical technology is so developed. If you are healthy, even if you are in your 70s or 80s, I still want to continue to participate in another form, such as Softbank Corp. Group Chairman. "

Son's successor must have the following conditions:"be able to share the mission, pay great attention to technology, and you must know how to raise money. "

In fact, as early as seven years ago, Masayoshi son established a successor for himself: Nicoshi Arora, an Indian who had been Google's vice president of European operations for a long time.

In order to enable the newly joined Arora to take over smoothly, son even demoted Chief Softbank Corp. Miyauchi, who had followed him for many years, from vice president to ordinary director.

But in the end, the ambitious succession plan was aborted after only two years.

In 2016, Arora was forced to resign as president of Softbank Corp., which made the 58-year-old son really see his heart:

"I thought about handing over my CEO position when I turned 60, but now I feel a little too young to have the energy to continue my work. "

01Softbank Corp.: walking out of the center of the whirlpool

Recently, Softbank Corp. Group released its financial results for 2020, and its performance has improved significantly.

As of March 31, 2021, Softbank Corp. 's net sales were 5.6282 trillion yen (332.6 billion yuan), an increase of 7.4 percent over the same period last year, and the net profit attributed to Softbank Corp. 's parent company shareholders was 4.9879 trillion yen (294.8 billion yuan).

This not only set a profit record for Japanese companies, but also madeSoftbank Corp. successfully surpassed Microsoft Corp to become the third most profitable company in the world after Apple Inc and Saudi Aramco.

At the earnings call held the next day, son said:

"although it was in the exploratory stage two years ago, the structure [as an investment company] has been formed. For me, there are a lot of regrets, such as investment mistakes in WeWork, Greensill and Katerra. In many ways, we still lack systematic investment methods, and these are problems that need to be solved. "

Son's "self-review" is not groundless. just a year ago, Softbank Corp. Group handed over its worst report card since it went public in 1994: an annual operating loss of $13 billion.

Of the 88 investments in Softbank Corp. 's vision fund in 2019, the valuations of as many as 50 companies fell.

Among them, Uber and WeWork, which are heavily invested by the Vision Fund, suffered huge losses, the valuation of WeWork and its three affiliated companies fell by $4.6 billion, and the valuation of Uber directly fell by $5.2 billion.

Summing up the results, Mr son said it was extremely "stupid" to invest billions of dollars in WeWork.

The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 directly aggravated the revenue crisis of Softbank Corp. Group.

To save Softbank Corp. 's share price, Softbank Corp. sold as much as 4.5 trillion yen in assets for share buybacks, while son pledged as much as 60 per cent of Softbank Corp. 's shares to a number of banks.

Even so, son showed the true character of an optimist:"the difficulties encountered by the Vision Fund are like children's games. Compared to the last crisis, I now look at the bottom of the valley from above, and we will try to live until things get better. "

A year later, son survived the crisis as he wished.

Softbank Corp. not only closed last year's debt hole, but even created new profits, thanks to the intensive IPO of vision fund investment projects.

The Vision Fund, which was formally established in May 2017, was jointly launched by Masayoshi son and the Saudi Public Investment Fund. At present, a total of 125 companies have been invested in Phase I and Phase II.

Last year, with the collective release of the global central bank, the Vision Fund took advantage of the opportunity to create an annual investment income of 6.29 trillion yen for Softbank Corp..

Among them, the biggest return on investment came from the South Korean version of BABA Coupang, in which Softbank Corp. held nearly 40% of the shares and received a return on investment of US $24.5 billion.

The share price of KE Holdings Inc, which Softbank Corp. injected $1.35 billion in August last year, soared after it went public in the United States, and when the share price peaked in November, it brought Softbank Corp. a 375% return on investment.

By the end of the year, DoorDash, an American food delivery platform, was successfully listed again, and son made a profit of about $11 billion again.

In recent years, the Vision Fund has begun to invest intensively in China.Enterprises ranging from Lili and Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. to DiDi Global Inc. 's autopilot and byte beating have all received financial support from Softbank Corp..

Nafnett Gowell, financial director of the Vision Fund, said at the earnings meeting.These unicorn companies from China are all"A large investment of great value to be unleashed. "

After successfully weathering the financial crisis during the epidemic, Softbank Corp. is achieving a full recovery. Son even modestly said that last year's profits of Y5,000bn "do not have a sense of achievement" and that there are plans to further expand investment.

With the expansion of son's ambitions, he is already in his sixties.

Since the abolition of Arora, the "prince", son has also rarely mentioned the issue of successors again.

People who are familiar with Softbank Corp. 's internal politics all know that at the moment of the imminent transfer of power, there will always be waves of strong winds and waves.

02Arora: the fall of the Prince

Nicoshi Arora was born in 1968 in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Because the caste status of the family is not high, Arora does not have many options to get ahead.Between being a doctor and an engineer, he finally chose the latter.

After graduating from the Indian University of Technology, Arora, 21, went to study in the United States alone with an one-way ticket, with only $100 in cash.

Like many newcomers to the United States, Arora lodges on the sofa of a friend's home, taking odd jobs to earn living expenses while studying.

After graduation, he first worked for an American investment company, and then joined the newly established Alphabet Inc-CL C.It was here that he became acquainted with his own "Bole": son.

Son later recalled: "Arora is a very tenacious negotiator, I understand his strength through negotiations."Looking at his eyes and body movements during the negotiation, I think this person is not simple.」

At a Japanese restaurant in California, son formally invited Arora to join Softbank Corp. for the first time and promised that he would succeed him and become the power core of Softbank Corp. Group.

As a result, the kind invitation was politely declined by Arora.

Later, the two met again in Los AngelesSon, who will not give up until he achieves his goal, offered Arora a sky-high contract with a total price of 30 billion yen this time, and finally succeeded in bringing Arora under his command.

For Nicos Arora, an Indian, going to work at Softbank Corp. 's headquarters in Xiliu, Tokyo, requires not only superior business skills, but also the flexibility of balancing interpersonal skills.

Obviously, Arora thought everything was too simple.

After Arora officially joined Softbank Corp., the company announced a new personnel list:

Arora was appointed vice president as a representative director. Miyauchi Miyauchi, the former vice president, was demoted to an ordinary director. Fumio Goto, who has just become a director, and strategy officer Kazuhiko Fujiwara were directly stripped of their positions as directors.

From the internal point of view of the company, this kind of personnel arrangement is entirely to let Arora sit in the second place, but son has been directly "forced" by Goto and Fujiwara.

"if the company needs me, then I will do my best," Goto asked. If not, please tell me bluntly, and then I will go my own way. I want to work for Softbank Corp. and Mr. Sun all the time, but if this is my wishful thinking, there is nothing I can do about it. "

This makes son feel great pressure, for Softbank Corp. Group, Goto and Fujiwara are veteran ministers who have been fighting for many years, if they leave, Softbank Corp. is bound to be dealt a heavy blow.

Meanwhile,The numerous contradictions between the foreign management brought by Arora and the veteran of Softbank Corp. 's headquarters are also gradually put on the table.

In the view of Miyauchi Qian and other elders, Arora is not good at communicating with people and "often does not see him when he needs to make decisions. Even if he does, he will not listen to you carefully."

At the end of January 2016, son received a report letter from the United States.

The content of the letter is that a number of shareholders of Softbank Corp. Group collectively accused Arora of insider trading and asked Softbank Corp. to investigate him.

It turns out that Arora did not step down as a senior adviser to Silver Lake Partners Investment Company after joining Softbank Corp. in September 2014.

Coincidentally, Silver Lake has also invested in China's BABA, and Softbank Corp. is BABA's largest shareholder.

BABA's shares suddenly plunged 20% in January 2015, but before that, Silver Lake sold its shares in BABA to avoid huge losses.

The letter said that judging from the timing of Silver Lake's operation, Arora, who works at both companies, is suspected of insider trading and that his important position is likely to let him know this series of events in advance.

Subsequently, Softbank Corp. commissioned two external law firms to set up a special investigation committee to conduct an internal investigation, and finally completed a hundreds-page investigation report.

With regard to the content of the report, Softbank Corp. Group has never disclosed to the public, but only understated that "this report is worthless."

While Softbank Corp. was "cleared of suspicion" for Arora, Arora also officially announced farewell to Softbank Corp..

In the two years since joining Softbank Corp., Arora has taken away a high salary of $200m, and he has become one of the highest-paid corporate executives in the world.

"at Softbank Corp., son asked me to help him find the seeds of his future career," he said. I think I have done my best, in my own way, of course, different from him, I take it for granted. I can say responsibly that I have been doing what I have to do. "

After this brief "handover" storm, few people within Softbank Corp. talked about Arora.

Son continues to lead as expected, and he no longer wants to complete the handover at the age of 60, and Softbank Corp. 's train is back on track.

03Son: ambition has no boundaries

Wufan Land near Birdhabitat Station in Saga Prefecture, Japan, where son was born.

Why is it called Wudi?

Because here is illegal occupation of land, every household does not have a house number.

Local residents have lived in shabby huts for a long time, and the air is often filled with the smell of livestock and pig food, and the Sun family make a living by raising pigs.

Every summer, the concentration of the smell here will increase several times, even when passing by will feel the stench is unbearable, and son grew up in such an environment.

When he was in junior high school, his father, Sun Sanxian, started a billiard house and consumer credit business. unexpectedly, the family moved to Kitakyushu and lived a rich life.

Soon after entering high school, under the influence of his father, son also secretly made up his mind:"you must become an entrepreneur. "

An accidental exchange trip strengthened son's belief in going to study in the United States. before he finished high school, he handed in his application for withdrawal and boarded a plane to California.

Son's experience of studying hard in the United States, constantly deified by people in the processing, has now become a classic case of motivational chicken soup.

For example, he read 4000 books in two years, graduated after three weeks in high school, and so on.

Masayoshi son himself described the period as follows:

"in college, it is no exaggeration to say that no one studies harder than me. When eating, I always hold a book in my right hand and a fork in my left hand. At that time, I thought that if I could eat with my eyes, it would be more delicious. "

While studying hard, son also forced himself to come up with a new invention every day. Although it took only five minutes, the strength of persistence allowed him to accumulate as many as 250 inventions.

Later, he sold Sasaki's "audio electronic translator" for 100 million yen, which is one of the more than 250 inventions.

After digging up the first bucket of gold in his life, son returned to Japan and formally founded Softbank Corp., which means software bank, in 1981, when the company's main business was to promote packaged software.

Later, the important reason for Softbank Corp. 's comprehensive transformation into an investment bank was naturally the huge income incentive brought by son's bet on BABA.

At the beginning of the new century, Ma Yun met son for the first time at UTStarcom Holdings Corp headquarters in Oriental Square in Beijing.

Earlier, Jack Ma, who had just received $5 million from Goldman Sachs Group, had already rejected 38 investors who wanted to buy a stake.

The conversation between the two men, which had been planned for one hour, was interrupted by son after only six minutes. He excitedly said to Jack Ma, "I've decided to invest in your company. How much do you want?" "

Jack Ma was surprised at first, and then recovered and said, "I'm not going to ask you for money." "

In this way, Jack Ma rejected son's investment plan.

Although he was shut out, son was still unwilling to give up. More than 20 days later, he personally invited Jack Ma to Japan to discuss Softbank Corp. 's capital injection.

Finally, under the kindness of son, Jack Ma agreed to Softbank Corp. to invest 35 million US dollars, which is seven times as much as Goldman Sachs Group's previous investment.

After returning home, Ma Yun felt that 35 million was too much and "haggled" to 20 million US dollars.

As of today, Softbank Corp. still holds 25.9% of BABA, worth nearly $150 billion.

At this year's earnings meeting, Mr son said that BABA accounted for 43 per cent of Softbank Corp. 's net assets, while Softbank Corp. Vision Fund Phase I and Phase II accounted for 25 per cent of net assets.

Like ballooning asset numbers, son's ambitions have no boundaries.

Back in 2010, Masayoshi son produced a 133-page PPT that included a 300-year vision plan that he had spent six years studying.

In son's plan, the information revolution will lead the future process of mankind in 300 years' time, andSoftbank Corp. 's mission is to "devote ourselves to increasing human joy" and to become "the leading enterprise leading the human information revolution" during these 300 years.

Why 300 years?

Son admires Sakamoto Ryoma, the Japanese shogunate. As the oldest regime in Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate lasted for 265 years, but was eventually overthrown by Sakamoto Ryoma.

Son's wish is to build a company that will last longer than the Tokugawa shogunate.

"it is possible for the enterprise to continue to exist beyond my life span," he said. So from the first day of my business, I thought that I had to build an enterprise that lived longer than the Edo shogunate. There are many organizations abroad that have lasted for more than 300 years, just like the Eastern Roman Empire. So I think I can do it myself. "

Although he is only 1.5 meters tall, son's courage and ambition are never lost to anyone.

No matter when he was a student or when he was an entrepreneur, he has always been completely loyal to his own judgment and can do whatever it takes to achieve his goal.

Softbank Corp. 's headquarters has changed its address many times and is now stationed in the same building as Conrad Tokyo, the top hotel of the Hilton Group in the United States.

Kangzhi Toshii is known as one of Softbank Corp. 's "three swordsmen". He once proposed to son: "Softbank Corp. is also growing now. Can we consider building a headquarters building?" "

But son's answer surprised him very much:

"I wouldn't build something like that. Why would I build a headquarters building? Don't you set your own boundaries for your own company?Softbank Corp. 's boundary will become wider and wider in the future. Even if a building is built, it will soon be too full to hold. "

After listening to these words, today Chuan Kangzhi feels extremely lost.

But when he thought about it later, he said, "this is really in line with Mr. Sun's personal style." "

In a recent interview with son, the question of his successor is still up in the air. Softbank Corp. 's plan for the next 300 years, he has not yet found the first person to take the baton.