I’m not much of a risk taker, but I like reading about them. It gives me a sort of gentle queasiness, like being in a very tall building and peering over the edge. That was my impression of reading Lionel Barber’s new biography of Masayoshi Son, Gambling Man.
Maybe you know Son’s name from the WeWork debacle (I can call it that, I still own that garbage stock) or from other Softbank Vision Fund investments. True confession: Until reading this book, I never even stopped to consider if Softbank was a bank (it isn’t). I knew Masayoshi Son from the headlines but there’s so much more to understand.
Given his role in technology, and especially with what’s next in the AI space, it’s important to know the man behind the big moves. What I like about Masa is you can never count him out. He takes the kind of risks that would doom most of us but his belief in himself remains unshakeable. That type of personality tends to cut both ways and Barber gives a very balanced view of what it takes to be Masa and what that ruthlessness brings out in other people.
Lionel Barber had incredible access for this book, interviewing Masa and other key players multiple times. It’s one of those times when the right writer finds the perfect subject. You need someone with Barber’s journalistic chops to put it all together. He’s also a very charming interview. I really enjoyed talking to him and hearing the stories as only he can tell them…
This interview was done as part of the New Books Network, a fantastic podcast platform that features dozens of author interviews with leading academics and thoughtleaders each week.
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