SoftBank executive Masayoshi Son pay slashed after historic vision fund loss

Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive officer of SoftBank Group Corp., speaks during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019. The Japanese investment powerhouse reported its first quarterly operating loss in 14 years -- about $6.5 billion --after finally disclosing the damage from its bets on WeWork and Uber Technologies Inc.

SoftBank Group Corp.’s top executives saw steep cuts in their paychecks as the Japanese conglomerate marked a historic loss for its Vision Fund unit.

The company’s founder and Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son kept his pay unchanged at 100 million yen (roughly $785,000), however four of the top six executives whose salary was made public through a company filing on Monday saw their compensation drop following a record $20.5 billion loss.

Simon Segars, who stepped down as the head of the company’s chip unit Arm Ltd. in February, earned 1.15 billion yen, SoftBank said. That was down almost 40% from the prior year. Ronald Fisher, Son’s long-time lieutenant who also stepped down from his role leading the Vision Fund’s US arm in April, earned 126 million yen. That marked an 86% cut. Fisher remains an adviser to Son.

Ken Miyauchi, chief of SoftBank’s domestic telecom operation, made 539 million yen, while its Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto made 293 million yen. Both had double-digit pay cuts.

SoftBank did not disclose what compensation former Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure, previously one of the highest-paid executives and one of Son’s most trusted allies, received before his departure earlier this year. He earned 1.8 billion yen in the prior year. Compensation was also not disclosed for Rajeev Misra, who heads the Vision Fund.

The world’s largest tech fund reported its biggest loss ever for the year ended Mar. 31 as a selloff in tech shares deflated the value of its portfolio companies, including public holdings like Coupang Inc. and Didi Global Inc.

The Japanese tech investor earlier this week named venture capitalist David Chao to join its board as it tries to regain its footing from money-losing investments. Chao’s appointment will be subject to approval at the upcoming annual general meeting of shareholders on Jun. 24.

To compare SoftBank pay with executive compensation filed to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, see the Bloomberg Pay Index.