SoftBank CEO’s Leveraged Fortune Vulnerable to WeWork Woes

Masayoshi Son pledged 38% of his SoftBank stake as collateral
Son loaned himself around $3 billion for first Vision Fund

SoftBank CEO's Leveraged Fortune Leaves Him Susceptible to WeWork Woes

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By Giles Turner, Tom Metcalf, and Pavel Alpeyev

September 19, 2019 at 3:00 AM UTC

Updated on

September 19, 2019 at 12:42 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Masayoshi Son, who built a $15.2 billion fortune investing in tech startups like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., is betting on himself more than ever, even as his empire shows signs of vulnerability.

The SoftBank Group Corp. founder has pledged 38% of his stake in the Japanese firm as collateral for personal loans from 19 banks, including Credit Suisse Group AG and Julius Baer Group Ltd., according to a June regulatory filing. That’s up from 36% at the start of the year and triple the level in June 2013.