"They will judge Masa to have been an extraordinarily consequential investor and historic figure in world investing and tech investing because he has made not just spectacular bets—but he's made so many people rich. I mean, with other people's money. All these founders, he's given them money, he's been an enormous disruptor, and he's built global businesses. He's built a huge business in Japan on the mobile operator. So for all these reasons, I know he sometimes feels dissatisfied with his legacy, and he's now trying to build his greatest legacy in the march to artificial general intelligence. Maybe the legacy will finally be judged by whether this bet pays off. What will his role be in the AI revolution? I would say to him, 'You've done pretty well so far.' " - Lionel Barber, author of "Gambling Man"
Fresh out of the studio, Lionel Barber, former editor of the Financial Times and author of "Gambling Man" joined us in a conversation to unravel the enigmatic figure of Masayoshi Son, the CEO of SoftBank Group. We began with Lionel's career journey as the former editor of Financial Times and why inspired him to work on this book. We progressed how he put together a nuanced portrait of Masa as a resilient outsider whose Korean-Japanese heritage fueled his drive to succeed in Japan's stratified society and shared stories of Masa's evolution from software distributor to global tech investor with Vision Fund. Lionel explains how this "eternal optimist" has consistently ridden technological waves for four decades while making and losing billions. He unpacks Masa's unique investment philosophy of thinking big, his revolutionary $100 billion Vision Fund that disrupted venture capital norms, and his latest half-trillion-dollar bet on AI. Throughout the conversation, Lionel reveals the complexity behind the caricature, arguing that history will remember Masa as an extraordinarily consequential figure in global tech investing despite his mixed record of spectacular wins and losses.
Episode Highlights: [00:46] Introduction to Lionel Barber and his book on Masayoshi Son [01:34] Lionel's journalism career origins [03:57] Key lessons from Lionel's career [05:25] What makes Masayoshi Son unique [06:33] The resilience behind Masa's character [07:49] The "Gambling Man" and core themes [10:38] Challenges in documenting Masa's story [13:07] How Masa's Korean heritage shaped him [15:49] Defining moments in Masa's business career [18:33] Evolution from software distributor to global tech conglomerate [22:21] Masa's dual roles: operator and investor [24:21] Understanding Masa's investment philosophy [31:30] How Masa changed tech investing [34:30] The hardest question about Masa [35:23] Masa's historical legacy [39:10] Closing remarks and book recommendations
Profile: Lionel Barber, Author of "Gambling Man"
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lionel-barber-473826135/
X: https://x.com/lionelbarber?lang=en
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:yv5ux5l7lcvmxexdswey5hqx
Gambling Man Profile Page: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Gambling-Man/Lionel-Barber/9781668070741
FT Profile: https://www.ft.com/lionel-barber
Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast.
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