Japan’s SoftBank Pledges $100 Billion—And 100,000 Jobs— To US For Trump’s Second Term

 Japan’s SoftBank Pledges $100 Billion—And 100,000 Jobs— To US For Trump’s Second Term

Three years ago in the gilded lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, two ebullient billionaires stood in front of reporters and made big promises. One was Donald Trump, who just weeks prior had pulled an upset victory against Hillary Clinton to become president of the United States. The other was Masayoshi Son, billionaire founder and CEO of Japan’s SoftBank and executor of a newly formed $100 billion investment vehicle named the Vision Fund. 

Trump had campaigned on the promise of bringing jobs back to America, and companies from Alibaba to Amazon pledged to do their part. Son, whose firm SoftBank owns telecom giant Sprint, had seen a merger with T-Mobile stall under the Obama administration over anti-competitive concerns. So on December 6, 2016, Son stood in the Trump Tower lobby to make his play. The Japanese billionaire could start over with Trump. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Masa of SoftBank of Japan and he has just agreed to invest $50 billion in the U.S. and [create] 50,000 jobs,” then President-elect Trump said at the time. The promise, according to a sheet of paper that Masa held up in the building lobby, would be completed in four years’ time, coinciding with Trump’s first term in office