Ever Trend Zone This week is shaping up to be an interesting week with a glimpse into Apple’s history, with a new article telling the story of SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son’s $17 billion gamble based on a gentleman’s agreement with Steve Jobs.
This Japanese entrepreneur, always known as Masa, has an interesting record of being the richest man in the world for three days, but Apple announced that he needed to work on developing a mobile phone two years before its announcement. I was thinking…
Although he’s not a household name in the United States, Masa briefly became the richest person on the planet for three days just before the dot-com crash at the beginning of this century.
Although he subsequently lost most of his fortune, the iPhone played a key role in his financial recovery. He is now the world’s largest investor, having made $1 trillion worth of trades over the past 20 years.
a wired Excerpts from Masa’s new biography reveal his recognition that Apple needed to work on developing a phone and the bet he took based on his tacit agreement with Steve. Author Lionel Barber tells the story.
During a visit to California sometime in the summer of 2005, he showed Jobs his sketches of a mobile-enabled iPod with a large display and using the Apple operating system. The new device will be able to process data and images, he predicted. Jobs laughed at the idea, but couldn’t help but drop hints about the iPhone.
Jobs: “Masa, don’t give me that damn picture. I have my own.”
Masa: “Well, you don’t need my dirty piece of paper, but if you get the product, please give it to Japan.”
Mr. Jobs declined to provide further details, but Mr. Masa spotted a flicker of a smile on the Apple boss’s face. After pressuring him further, Masa insisted on a follow-up meeting at Mr. Jobs’ Tudor country house in Palo Alto. According to Masa, at that meeting, Jobs agreed in principle to give SoftBank exclusive rights to sell iPhones in Japan. “Well, Masa, you’re crazy,” Jobs said. “We didn’t tell anyone, but you came to see me first. I’ll give it to you.”
Steve’s words were enough for Masa, and his company, SoftBank, ended up acquiring carrier Vodafone Japan for $17 billion. This gives SoftBank a consumer business that will become even more valuable if it can obtain exclusive Japanese rights to the iPhone 3G, the first model compatible with local networks. The deal did happen, and of course the gamble paid off in a big way.
Masa has some reputation for colorful stories, but the facts certainly match some versions of his account, and Steve’s assessment of this man’s vision and nerve plays a key role. Very likely.
Photo: Apple
