Mixed Fortunes For Japan's Super-Wealthy In 2015 - Forbes

Tom Burroughes

12 April 2016

Japan’s super-rich experienced mixed fortunes last year with half of them seeing their wealth rise in 2015, according to Forbes. However, the 50 richest people saw their wealth drop as markets were hit late in the year.

The 50 richest individuals’ wealth stood at $137 billion at the end of 2015, down from $141 billion a year earlier, the publisher said.

Fashion tycoon Tadashi Yanai held the top spot on this year’s list with a net worth of $16.3 billion, despite a $4.8 billion decline in his fortune. Fast Retailing, the parent company of clothing chain Uniqlo, had to cut its revenue forecasts when warm weather affected the sales of its cold-weather gear.

Masayoshi Son is in the second spot on the rankings with a net worth of $14.9 billion, a $1 billion gain from the previous year. He owns the mobile telecom firm SoftBank.

In third place is Nobutada Saji, the chairman of drinks group Suntory Holdings.

In fourth place is Takemitsu Takizaki, founder of Keyence, a global supplier of sensors and other electronic components for factory automation systems.

The top 10 richest in Japan are: 1) Tadashi Yanai; $16.3 billion 2) Masayoshi Son; $14.9 billion 3) Nobutada Saji; $11.7 billion 4) Takemitsu Takizaki; $8.3 billion 5) Hiroshi Mikitani; $5.7 billion 6) Akira Mori; $4.8 billion 7) Keiichiro Takahara; $4.2 billion 8) Kunio and Hideyuki Busujima; $4.1 billion 9) Han Chang-Woo; $4.0 billion 10) Masatoshi Ito; $3.9 billion.

Forbes said its list is assembled from information obtained from list members, public company data, stock exchanges, analysts, databases and government agencies. Wealth of extended families is included. Net worths were based on stock prices and exchange rates as of 25 March this year.