Review: Two books about Masayoshi Son

Oct 24th 2024

The Economist

Gambling Man. By Lionel Barber. Allen Lane; 416 pages; £30. To be published in America by Atria/One Signal in January; $29.99

The Money Trap. By Alok Sama. St Martin’s Press; 304 pages; $30. Macmillan Business; £22

Masayoshi Son, boss of SoftBank, a Japanese tech and telecoms giant, is one of the boldest investors of modern times. He earned billions from prescient investments in Arm Holdings, a chip company, and Yahoo and Alibaba, two internet pioneers. Yet Mr Son also vaporised billions with astonishing speed by staking the likes of WeWork and countless other tech confections. Revered for his insight, he is mocked for his overreach.

Discerning the true Masa, as he is known, is no small task. Two new books illuminate his essence, though neither quite reconciles the central dichotomy of his long career. One, a cradle-to-present treatment by Lionel Barber, former editor of the Financial Times, lays claim to being the first Western biography of Mr Son. The other, a lively memoir by Alok Sama, Softbank’s former chief financial officer, offers an unvarnished insider’s peek at the man.

Continue here:https://www.economist.com/culture/2024/10/24/softbanks-gambling-founder-masayoshi-son-is-catnip-for-authors