Softbank’s Son gives $83 mn payday to recruit top talent

Masayoshi Son is making top executives at SoftBank Group Corp some of the highest-paid in Japan as he recruits talent to his growing investment empire.

While Son’s own salary remains modest by global standards, his company paid a total of 9.1 billion yen ($83 million) in compensation to six lieutenants, according documents released on Wednesday for a shareholder meeting June 19.

In the latest example, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc executive Katsunori Sago, 51, earned 982 million yen after becoming Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer in June 2018. The CEO of Nomura Holdings Inc, Japan’s biggest brokerage, made 405 million yen in the year ended March 2018.

Son has a history of paying top dollar to attract high-profile executives.