The Troubled Saga of Masa Son's $100 Billion Fund

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s Vision Fund has been impossible to ignore since its inception, pumping billions upon billions of dollars into tech companies like WeWork and Uber. Now, a string of high-profile losses and the coronavirus pandemic have put the fund deeply in the red. Bloomberg journalists Pavel Alpeyev, Sarah McBride and Tim Culpan break down the controversial investment strategies that have led to this critical moment for Son’s unprecedented fund.

Video by Vicky Feng and Alan Jeffries

#SoftBank #Epics #Business

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[business]

Is Masa Son's $100B fund losing its vision? Let us know what you think in the comments.

He was gonna be broke in 2000 but 1 company alibaba worked and made him all this cash. He's not really gonna change. He is just waiting to hit one more.

[ralphrau]

Invest 10 billion in 10 companies.
Then pray that 1 goes to 100 Billion and you get your money back.

[tracycove]

He will bounce back then Bloomberg will put a new video praising him

[pepessz]

"...He had no business plan, but his eyes was very strong."

[bernardfinucane]

Too much funding can definitely kill a company.

[iamwillhu]

I think it's safe to say SoftBank does not have an investment strategy. It's more of an impulsive decision by Son Masayoshi. He believed in ride hailing apps hence the huge exposure. He believed in WeWork because of the founder Adam Neumann. If he really had an investment strategy, he would've opted for diversification across multiple industries (chips, AI, robotics, fintech, biotech, enterprise SaaS).

But still, I do admire him for his ambition, grit and his capability to raise the world's largest fund.

[mattnoh]

"The size of U.S. transportation and education fund combined" Lets choose the two things we spend the least on to try to make the viewer think this is a lot of money. Tech busts all the time.

[wamutogoria]

I have strong eyes, how do I get Masa Son to invest.

[stefanoraffo]

Everything about Softbank is just insane to me. The bubble they created has somehow not burst...yet

[arnold]

SoftBank is basically throwing as much at the wall and hoping something sticks

[nexofilipe]

There’s no secret formulas of fast growth. Discipline and consistency will always rule over time.

[vedantkale]

He basically took money for granted, lost all the importance of value investing. I mean when you have $100 billion in your account you wouldn't really care if hundreds of million would go here and there. Whereas a man with a small account would care where his money is spent.

[waysofzen]

This reminds of Casino Royale, when the African leader gives his money to Le Chiffre to invest.

[chasesteele]

Uber and Alibaba will pay off but WeWork was a waste of cash

[andywu]

"his eyes were very strong" the quote of the decade ladies and gentlemen

[priyansubhagabati]

1billion dollar per 1minute
I also want that, I am ready to extend the meeting forever

[watashiikarashi]

"My hairline is not going backwards; I am going forward" In Japan he is rather known as a nice uncle who owns a big mobile company and a big baseball club. It took me this video in English to know what SoftBank is really doing...

Basically he got lucky on a stock bet and somehow convinced himself and everyone else that he was a genius investor. WeWork and arm saw him for what he was and rinsed him.

[DOKOTV]

He got lucky with Alibaba. Luck won’t favor him every time.