Softbank Founder Nears Gates as World's Richest Man, FT Says
2/19/00 3:19:00 AM
Source: Bloomberg News
London, Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Masayoshi Son, the founder of Softbank Corp., Japan's largest investor in Internet businesses, could soon become the world's richest man, overtaking Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, the Financial Times reported. At yesterday's share price and closing foreign exchange levels, Son's 38.2 percent stake in Softbank was worth almost $70 billion, approaching Gates's $78 billion worth of stock in Microsoft, the report said. A group led by Softbank is expected to be named next week as the buyer of Nippon Credit Bank Ltd., the newspaper added.
Shares in Softbank rose 7 percent Friday, bringing the advance in the last six months to almost 500 percent; shares in Microsoft declined 4.6 percent Friday, taking the gain from six months ago to 10 percent. (Financial Times, Feb. 19, 2000, p. 16, www.FT.com or FITM ) |
