SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son reportedly owes $5.1B to the Japanese investment firm.
The losses have stemmed from Son's side deals at SoftBank. Unless the
fund's performance recovers, Son would be liable to pay any "unfunded
repayment obligations" at the end of the fund's tenure.
- Due
to the low salaries awarded to top executives — Son himself earns
$760,000 annually — SoftBank decided to allow executives to cut side
deals in a bid to retain talent.
- However,
due to the drop in valuations of portfolio companies, Son's losses have
mounted, widening his unrealized losses tally of $4.7B at the end of Q3
2022 by $400M.
- Son
has accumulated a $2.9B deficit on Vision Fund 2, $344M on the Latin
American fund, and $1.85B on SB Northstar, a vehicle set up to trade
stocks and derivatives.
- He has a 17.25% stake each in vehicles set up under Vision Fund 2 and Latin America fund and a 33% stake in SB Northstar.
- Son owns more than a third of SoftBank, with his personal wealth estimated to be $12.3B.
- SoftBank reported $5.8B in losses from its Vision Funds and Latin American Fund in Q4 2022.
