It seems to be a week for interesting peeks at Apple history, a new piece telling the story of Softbank founder Masayoshi Son making a $17B gamble on the basis of a gentleman’s agreement with Steve Jobs.
Invariably known as Masa, the Japanese entrepreneur – who holds the interesting record of having been the richest man in the world for three days – figured out that Apple had to be working on a phone, two years before it was announced …
While not a household name in the US, Masa was briefly the wealthiest man on the planet for three days, just ahead of the dotcom crash at the turn of the century.
Having subsequently lost most of his wealth, the iPhone played a key role in his financial recovery. Today, he’s the world’s biggest investor, having done a trillion dollar’s worth of deals in the past 20 years.
A Wired excerpt from a new biography of Masa reveals his realization that Apple had to be working on a phone, and the gamble he took based on an unwritten agreement with Steve. Author Lionel Barber tells the story.
On a visit to California, sometime in the summer of 2005, he showed Jobs his own sketch of a mobile-enabled iPod that had a large display and used the Apple operating system. The new device, he predicted, would be able to process data and images. Jobs pooh-poohed the idea but could not resist dropping hints about the iPhone.
Jobs: “Masa, don’t give me your shitty drawing. I have my own.”
Masa: “Well, I don’t need to give you my dirty piece of paper, but once you have your product, give it to me for Japan.”
Jobs refused to reveal any more detail, but Masa spotted the flicker of a smile on the Apple boss’s face. After pressing him further, Masa wangled a follow-up meeting at Jobs’ Tudor-style country home in Palo Alto. At that meeting, Masa claims, Jobs agreed in principle to give SoftBank exclusive rights to distribute the iPhone in Japan. “Well, Masa, you are crazy,” said Jobs. “We have not talked to anybody, but you came to see me first. I’ll give it to you.”
Steve’s word was enough for Masa, leading his company Softbank to buy the carrier Vodafone Japan for $17B. This gave Softbank a consumer business which would be worth very much more once it had the exclusive Japanese rights to the iPhone 3G, the first model compatible with local networks. The deal was indeed done, and the bet of course paid off big-time.
Masa does have something of a reputation for colorful stories, but the facts certainly align with some version of his account, with Steve’s appreciation for the man’s vision and nerve likely playing a significant role.
Photo: Apple
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