Softbank Vision Fund boss doubles pay despite hefty loss
Softbank has more than doubled the pay of its Vision Fund boss Rajeev Misra even as the mammoth tech fund dragged the Japanese company to a record loss last year.
Misra pocketed 1.6bn yen (£12m) in total compensation for the year to March, more than twice as much as he earned in the previous 12 months.
The Vision Fund head’s pay was second only to that of Softbank’s chief operating officer Marcelo Claure, which rose 17 per cent to 2.1bn yen.
However, group chief executive Masayoshi Son’s pay packet was reduced nine per cent to 209m yen.
The pay bump for Misra comes in spite of $18m losses at the Vision Fund last year, which helped push Softbank to a 1.4 trillion yen operating loss.
While the $100m tech fund initially enjoyed vast success, it has seen its bets in firms such as Wework and Uber sour over recent months.
Softbank has since taken control of Wework after the co-working firm almost ran out of cash following its botched public listing last year.
Softbank vice chairman Ron Fisher, who played a key role in the disastrous Wework investment, had his pay slashed 80 per cent last year. He had previously been the company’s highest paid executive.
The Softbank filing, posted today, also highlighted the company’s growing dependence on Japan’s big three banks.
Borrowing from Mizuho Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group last year rose by more than 1 trillion yen to 2.5 trillion yen.