We are pleased to welcome Lionel Barber, former editor of the Financial Times, to discuss the story behind the founder and CEO of SoftBank Masayoshi Son, based on his recent book Gambling Man. The Secret Story of the World's Greatest Disruptor, Masayoshi Son. Guests are invited to join us for a conversation between Lionel and The Japan Society Chair, Bill Emmott, followed by an audience Q&A and drinks reception.

Japanese billionaire, technology entrepreneur and investor Masayoshi Son has made and lost several fortunes, investing or controlling assets worth $1trn in the past two decades through his media-tech giant, SoftBank. He bankrolled Alibaba, China’s internet colossus, before the world had heard about it; plotted with Steve Jobs to turn the iPhone into a wonder product; and financed hundreds of tech start-ups, fuelling the biggest boom Silicon Valley has ever seen.

Gambling Man is the first Western biography of Son, written with his co-operation but not authorised by him. In this book Lionel Barber reveals the man behind the money, what drives him, why he matters, and what he plans for his next act. Based on in-depth research and eye-opening interviews, the book unearths previously untold stories about the tech revolution and financial dramas of recent decades.

We are grateful to Baker McKenzie UK Japan Connect for kindly hosting this event.

Lionel Barber is the former editor of the Financial Times. As editor, he interviewed many of the world’s leaders in business and politics, including US Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, Russian president Vladimir Putin, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Barber has cowritten several books and has lectured widely on foreign policy, transatlantic relations, and economics. He also served on the Board of Trustees at the Tate and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He graduated in 1978 from St Edmund Hall, Oxford University, with a joint honors degree in German and modern history and speaks French and German fluently.

If you have any questions, please call the Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email us at: events@japansociety.org.uk.

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