SoftBank Group

On December 16, 2024, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son appeared with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago to announce a $100 billion US investment pledge over Trump's term, promising 100,000 AI and infrastructure jobs. This doubled Son's 2016 pledge of $50 billion and 50,000 jobs made after Trump's first election - commitments where the money was eventually spent but it remains unclear whether the jobs were created. Analysts described this as 'SoftBank's version of an inaugural donation, in pursuit of a lighter regulatory touch for the firm and its portfolio companies' including its stake in TikTok parent ByteDance. SoftBank spent $2.68 million on US lobbying in 2024.

Masayoshi Son overrode his lieutenants' objections and invested billions from both SoftBank Group and Vision Fund in WeWork, lifting its valuation to $47 billion by early 2019 despite fundamental business weaknesses. After WeWork's failed IPO attempt in 2019, SoftBank provided a $9.5 billion rescue package. WeWork filed for bankruptcy in November 2023, costing SoftBank an estimated $11.5 billion in equity losses plus $2.2 billion in outstanding debt. Son told shareholders 'I fell in love with WeWork' and admitted in August 2022 he was 'embarrassed' and 'ashamed' about Vision Fund management.

In September 2022, SoftBank Group Corp began laying off employees at its loss-making Vision Fund, cutting at least 30% of staff. The layoffs came after the Vision Fund posted a record 3.5 trillion yen ($27.4 billion) loss for the fiscal year ending March 2022. The cuts reflected the consequences of Son's high-risk investment strategy failing, with workers bearing the cost of leadership's poor decisions.

In fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, SoftBank Vision Fund posted a record 3.5 trillion yen ($27.4 billion) loss as the valuation of its stock portfolio plummeted. The losses reflected failed bets on companies including WeWork, OneWeb, Wirecard, OYO Rooms, Katerra, and Greensill Capital. Son told investors in August 2022 he was 'embarrassed' and 'ashamed' about how he had run the Vision Fund, struggling to persuade investors of the value of his high-risk investment strategy.

In December 2019, Vision Fund employees described the workplace environment as characterized by sycophancy and harassment. According to three regular participants in calls with Masayoshi Son, he would alternate unpredictably between being 'charming and effusively complimentary' and 'enraged, berating presenters and demanding a perpetually shifting yet unfailingly detailed set of metrics.' Employees reported never knowing where Son would land on the 'charm-rage axis,' creating an environment of fear and toxicity focused on placating the mercurial CEO rather than sound investment practices.