SoftBank’s founder Masayoshi Son missed out on Amazon stake — over $30 million

Tokyo: SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son,famous for his early investment in China’s top e-commerce company, also had the chance to own a big stake in Amazon.com Inc. — but he missed out over $30 million.

Son, speaking at the Milken Institute conference in Tokyo, said he was close to striking a deal to acquire 30 percent of the U.S. e-commerce pioneer with Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos in its early years. Son offered $100 million, but Bezos insisted on $130 million. It’s not that Son thought the stock wasn’t worth it; he just didn’t have the money.

‘We were laughing about it when I met him again recently,” Son said. ‘It’s a big mistake that I didn’t make that investment. I just didn’t have enough cash. But my image, my vision was right.”