| Hiroshi Mikitani | |
|---|---|
Mikitani at the 37th G8 Summit in May 2011
|
|
| Born | March 11, 1965 Kobe, Hyogo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Alma mater | Hitotsubashi University Harvard University |
| Occupation | Founder, CEO and Chairman of Rakuten |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Net worth | $6.1 billion (March 2017) |
| Spouse(s) | Married |
| Children | Two |
| Website | twitter twitter |
Hiroshi Mikitani (三木谷浩史 Mikitani Hiroshi?) (born March 11, 1965) is a Japanese billionaire businessman and the founder and CEO of Rakuten.
Early life and education
Mikitani was born in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture, Japan. Mikitani attended Hitotsubashi University, graduating in 1988. While working for the Industrial Bank of Japan, Mikitani was transferred to the US in 1993. He studied at Harvard Business School, earning the 9-Week certificate in Advanced Leadership in 2011.
His father was an economist, Ryoichi Mikitani (Kobe University Professor Emeritus, Yale University Professor). His mother, Setsuko spent her elementary school age in New York. After her graduation from Kobe University, she worked for a trading company. His sister, Ikuko is a physician (MD in Osaka University). His brother, Kenichi is a University of Tokyo professor in Biology.
Early career
Mikitani worked at the Industrial Bank of Japan (now part of Mizuho Corporate Bank) from 1988 to 1996. In 1997, he left to start his own consulting group called Crimson Group.
Rakuten
On February 7, 1997 Mikitani founded Rakuten with a few young co-founders and just 250,000 yen of their own money. He was president from its founding, and in 2001 he also became chairman. In addition, he is also head of the E-Commerce and Banking Business Units and Head of the Development Unit. Among his other titles are also Chairman of Rakuten Travel, Inc., Chairman of Crimson Football Club, Inc., Director (President of Board of Directors) of PRICEMINISTER S.A.S., Director (Chairman) of Kobo Inc.
Hiroshi Mikitani net worth: Hiroshi Mikitani is a Japanese businessman who has a net worth of $9 billion. Hiroshi Mikitani is the chairman and CEO of Japan’s biggest e-retailer, Rakuten, which he founded in 1997. Two years later the company changed its name into Rakuten, Inc. Ever since, Mikitani has worked on acquiring companies that will grow his global offerings and challenge behemoths like eBay and Amazon. More precisely, Mikitani has spent over $1 billion throughout the past few years obtaining Buy.com in the U.S., Play.com in the U.K., among many others. In March 2010, he implemented a project called “Englishnization”, gradually making English the language of Rakuten, despite the fact that its staff is mainly Japanese. He decided to make this change because he believes, “English is not an advantage anymore – it is a requirement.” Furthermore, he took a $100 million stake in photo-sharing site Pinterest in May 2012, as well as Canada’s e-book reader company Kobo earlier that year. Among Mikitani’s major titles also are included director of Kobo Inc., chairman of Rakuten Card Co., Ltd, chairman of Rakuten Travel, Inc., chairman of Fusion Communications Corporation, as well as chairman of Crimson Football Club, Inc. Apart from his business duties, he has also some family responsibilities, being married with one children.
Source: