Nikesh Arora, the current CEO of Palo Alto Networks and former president of SoftBank, recently shared insights into Masayoshi Son's unconventional approach to business, highlighting the SoftBank founder's unique ability to thrive by disregarding conventional wisdom.
Arora, speaking on a podcast hosted by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, likened Son's career trajectory to that of Benjamin Button, suggesting he ages in reverse. Arora humorously noted that Son was "touching everything his mother said don't touch," meaning he has a fearless investment style that goes against traditional risk aversion. Arora, who worked with Son at SoftBank, emphasized Son's unmatched appetite for risk. He recalled Son's attitude as being, "What are we going to do today? Great. All in,".
Son's bold investment strategies have resulted in both significant successes and failures. Arora pointed out that Son struck gold with early investments in Yahoo! Japan, Alibaba, and ARM Holdings. However, Son also faced near-bankruptcy and public criticism due to missteps with companies like WeWork. Despite the volatility, Son's net worth is $38.8 billion, making him the second-richest person in Japan.
Arora highlighted the cultural tendency to instill risk aversion in children, teaching them to avoid danger and seek stability. He contrasted this with Son's approach, who, in Arora's observation, became increasingly daring and ambitious. Son's willingness to defy conventional norms and embrace risk has been a key factor in his success.
SoftBank is currently making significant investments in OpenAI, with Son envisioning it as the world's most valuable company and aiming to lead in artificial superintelligence (ASI). He believes ASI will be AI that is 10,000 times smarter than humans. SoftBank is expanding its partnership with OpenAI, including joining the Stargate project, with planned investments worth 4.8 trillion Japanese yen (around $33.2 billion).
Nikesh Arora joined SoftBank in September 2014 and served as president and chief operating officer. Masayoshi Son had initially considered Arora as his successor. However, Son later decided to remain at the helm, leading to Arora's resignation in June 2016. Arora's departure came shortly after a panel cleared him of conflict-of-interest charges. During his two-year tenure, Arora's compensation and related expenses amounted to $300 million. In August 2015, Arora made a personal investment of $482 million in SoftBank, demonstrating his confidence in the company's future.
Currently, Nikesh Arora is the CEO and chairman of Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity company. He has held this position since June 2018. Prior to SoftBank, Arora held senior leadership roles at Google. Arora's career also includes experience at Deutsche Telekom, Fidelity Investments, and Putnam Investments. He was also on the board of Uber in 2025.
