Quotes from Masayoshi Son

When the founders retire, it's always difficult for the second generation and third generation.

We saw a big bang in PCs; we saw a big bang in the Internet. I believe the next big bang is going to be even bigger. To be ready for that, we need to set the foundation, and that foundation is SoftBank Vision Fund.

If you live in the States, you see the windmill signal on your smartphone all the time. It's like living in Beijing air. You have to remember the blue sky.

I was richer than Bill Gates for 3 days.

Softbank 2.0 means globalisation of Softbank.

People usually compare the computer to the head of the human being. I would say that hardware is the bone of the head, the skull. The semiconductor is the brain within the head. The software is the wisdom. And data is the knowledge.

Think big; think disruptive. Execute with full passion.

We only live once, so I want to think big.

Mankind had the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, and now this third one, the information revolution.

To have real success and roots in a society, there has to be a local champion, and hence we believe in identifying a local entrepreneur.

The pension system ties you to companies much longer in Japan.

Whatever the country, whatever the culture, whatever the time, when you become a big enough organization, you start to collapse and slow down.

If Japanese cannot have new babies quick enough, then the government should start importing workers faster.

Those who rule data will rule the entire world.

It's a long journey. There will be good times, and there will be bad times, but SoftBank is always there.

A person's life is over in 50, 100 years. But a company lives on through the people it is composed of, and SoftBank group has to survive even after I'm gone.

I'm still committed to the success of the U.K. and the belief of the strong intelligence and passion and determination of the British people. I'm a strong believer of their long-term historical success.

I think in terms of 20-year horizons.

There will come a time when the human race and super intelligence will coexist to create a richer and happier life.

Japan had an energy crisis. I thought, instead of just worrying about it, I should take some kind of responsibility to provide the solutions.

I use the iPhone and iPad every day, and I no longer touch PCs at all.

Softbank has always been a service firm, and with the Internet, services became the center of the technology industry.

Yahoo was Jerry Yang's baby. He did a great job creating the baby. Unfortunately, some of the key executives after the foundation of the company couldn't keep up with the technology innovation of the industry. They thought that Yahoo should become a media company.

I said from the very beginning, 'Yahoo should position itself as a technology innovation company, not as a media company.'