Yusaku Maezawa Explained

Yusaku Maezawa
Native Name:前澤 友作
Native Name Lang:ja
Birth Date:1975 11, df=yes
Birth Place:Kamagaya, Japan
Occupation:Entrepreneur, art collector
Years Active:1998–present
Organization:Start Today, Zozotown, ZOZO
Spouse:Divorced
Children:3
Embed:yes
Type:Space Adventures space tourist
Space Time:11 days, 19 hours, 34 minutes
Missions:Soyuz MS-20

is a Japanese billionaire entrepreneur and art collector. He founded Start Today in 1998 and launched the online fashion retail website Zozotown in 2004, now Japan's largest.

Maezawa introduced a custom-fit apparel brand Zozo and at-home measurement system, the Zozosuit, in 2018.[1] As of December 2021, he was estimated by Forbes to have a net worth of $2.0 billion.[2]

Early life

Maezawa began attending Waseda Jitsugyo High School, Tokyo, in 1991, where he started a hardcore punk band with his classmates called, in which he was the drummer.[3] [4] The band released their first EP in 1993.[5] After graduating from high school, he decided not to go to college; instead he moved to the US with a girlfriend, where he started collecting CDs and records.[6] When he returned to Japan in 1995, his album collection became the basis for his first company, which sold imported albums and CDs through the mail.[3]

Business

In 1998, Maezawa used the basis of the mail-order album business to launch the company Start Today.[7] The same year, his band signed with the label BMG Japan. By 2000, Start Today had moved to an online platform, had begun selling clothing, and had become a public company. In 2001, Maezawa declared a hiatus on his music career. Start Today opened the retail clothing website Zozotown in 2004, and six years later, Start Today became a publicly traded company, listed on the "Mothers" Index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. By 2012, Start Today was listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.[8]

In 2018, Maezawa introduced Zozo, a custom-fit clothing brand and the Zozosuit an at-home measurement system, in over 72 countries and territories.[9]

Maezawa resigned from Zozo in September 2019 after selling a stake of 50.1% in the company to SoftBank for (400 billion Yen). He also sold 30% of his personal stake in ZoZo to Yahoo Japan.[10]

Contemporary Art Foundation

Maezawa is the founder of the Tokyo-based Contemporary Art Foundation, which he started in 2012 with a goal of "supporting young artists as a pillar of the next generation of contemporary art."[11] The Contemporary Art Foundation currently hosts collection shows twice a year. In May 2016, Maezawa attracted significant media attention with a record purchase price at auction of $57.3 million for an Untitled (1982) artwork of a devil by Jean-Michel Basquiat, and broke a record again in May 2017 with a $110.5 million auction for another Untitled (1982) of a skull by the same artist.[12] At the same 2016 auction, Maezawa bought pieces by Bruce Nauman, Alexander Calder, Richard Prince, and Jeff Koons, spending a total of $98 million over two days.[13] Maezawa plans to open a contemporary art museum in Chiba, which will house his collection. In 2022, Maezawa sold an untitled Basquiat Painting for $85 Million.[14]

Spaceflights

Proposed Circumlunar Flight

See main article: dearMoon project. On 17 September 2018, it was announced that Maezawa was to become the first commercial passenger to perform a flyby of the Moon.[15] He was to fly on board a SpaceX Starship, which has been in development since 2017. The flight was slated to take place no earlier than 2023 with a duration of around six days. Maezawa originally planned to take six to eight artists with him as a part of an art project entitled

  1. dearMoon
.[16] In March of 2021, the requirements for registration were changed to allow members of the general public (instead of just artists) to apply for the flight.[17] Finally, in December 2022, Maezawa announced that he had chosen his crew members, including DJ Steve Aoki and T.O.P.[18] After the flight was postponed indefinitely following broader Starship program delays in 2023, the project was fully cancelled on 1 June 2024.[19]

ISS mission

On 13 May 2021, Maezawa announced he would be joining Space Adventures on a trip to the International Space Station in December 2021, via a Soyuz spacecraft. He spent 12 days on the orbital station with his assistant, Yozo Hirano, where he completed the top 100 things demanded by public, as well as recorded highlights in preparation for the SpaceX lunar flight.[20] [21] [22]

The flight lifted off on 8 December 2021, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as part of the Russian-operated Soyuz MS-20.[23] [24] [25] On 18 December, Maezawa announced that he will start a campaign in which every participant will receive a sum of money "from space."[26] [27] The campaign started on 19 December.[28] He returned as planned on 20 December.[29]

Most retweeted

On 5 January 2019, Maezawa secured the most ever retweets for his Twitter message offering one million yen (approx US$9,300) each to 100 randomly selected people who retweeted the message and followed him.[30] More than four million people ended up retweeting Maezawa's tweet and following him.

Later that year, on 31 December, he secured the second spot in the list of most-retweeted tweets by offering one million yen (approx US$9,200) each to 1,000 randomly selected people who retweeted the Twitter message and followed him.[31] The message surpassed the 3 million retweets mark.

Personal life

Maezawa is divorced, with three children, and lives in Chiba, Japan.[32]

Notes and References

  1. News: Japanese art enthusiast Yusaku Maezawa in $98m art spree. BBC News. 12 May 2016. 21 June 2018. 31 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180831211852/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36273197. live.
  2. Web site: Forbes profile: Yusaku Maezawa . Forbes.com . 16 July 2021 . 23 September 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180923013021/https://www.forbes.com/profile/yusaku-maezawa/ . live .
  3. Web site: Meet Yusaku Maezawa, The Billionaire Entrepreneur Rocking The Art World. Adelstein. Mari YamamotoJake. 13 May 2016. The Daily Beast. 17 May 2016. 16 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160516212236/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/13/meet-yusaku-maezawa-the-billionaire-entrepreneur-rocking-the-art-world.html. live.
  4. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46779139 Yusaku Maezawa: Japanese billionaire tweets most retweeted tweet
  5. Web site: Switch Style. Discogs. 17 May 2016. 28 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190328165647/https://www.discogs.com/artist/1452437-Switch-Style. live.
  6. Web site: 「競争嫌い」で年商1000億円【1】 －対談：スタートトゥデイ社長 前澤友作×田原総一朗 新しい日本のチカラ：PRESIDENT Online – プレジデント. PRESIDENT Online – PRESIDENT. 10 April 2014. ja-JP. 18 May 2016. 10 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160610142903/http://president.jp/articles/-/12232?page=2. live.
  7. News: Yusaku Maezawa 2016 Contemporary Art Award. 24 June 2016. artnet News. 18 September 2018. en-US. 18 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180918160458/https://news.artnet.com/market/yusaku-maezawa-foundation-contemporary-art-award-526112. live.
  8. Web site: Meet Yusaku Maezawa, The Billionaire Entrepreneur Rocking The Art World. Adelstein. Mari YamamotoJake. 13 May 2016. The Daily Beast. 18 May 2016. 17 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160517105212/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/13/meet-yusaku-maezawa-the-billionaire-entrepreneur-rocking-the-art-world.html. live.
  9. Web site: Japan's Zozo, using measurement-taking bodysuit, expands bespoke service. Nussey. SamJake. 2 July 2018. Reuters. 18 May 2016. 9 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190509153230/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-retail-zozotown/japans-zozo-using-measurement-taking-bodysuit-expands-bespoke-service-idUSKBN1JT0ED. live.
  10. News: Billionaire to sell Zozo stake to Yahoo Japan. BBC News. 12 September 2019. 17 September 2019. 16 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200116172407/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49671265. live.
  11. Web site: Contemporary Art Foundation (Public Interest Corporation). Contemporary Art Foundation. 18 May 2016. 23 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190723081143/http://gendai-art.org/en/. live.
  12. Web site: Meet The Japanese E-Commerce Billionaire Who Just Spent $110.5 Million On A Basquiat Painting. Michela. Tindera. Forbes. 19 May 2017 . 20 May 2017. 10 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200110120133/https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2017/05/19/meet-the-japanese-e-commerce-billionaire-who-just-spent-110-5-million-on-a-basquiat-painting/. live.
  13. News: Collector Maezawa drops $98 million on art in two days. Kazakina. Katya. 12 May 2016. The Japan Times Online. en-US. 0447-5763. 18 May 2016. 7 January 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190107230452/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/12/business/collector-maezawa-drops-98-million-art-two-days/. live.
  14. Web site: Porterfield . Carlie . Billionaire Yusaku Maezawa Sells Basquiat Painting For $85 Million As Market For Artist's Work Heats Up . Forbes . 2022-05-18 . 2023-07-24.
  15. Web site: First Private Passenger on Lunar Starship Mission. 18 September 2018 . www.youtube.com. 18 September 2018. 11 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200211143203/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu7WJD8vpAQ. live.
  16. https://dearmoon.earth/ Dear Moon
  17. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-maezawa-moon/maezawa-wants-you-japan-billionaire-seeks-crew-for-moon-trip-idUSKCN2AU2QB Maezawa wants you: Japan billionaire seeks 'crew' for moon trip
  18. News: SpaceX moon flight to include DJ, YouTuber and K-pop rapper . 9 December 2022 . BBC News . December 9, 2022 .
  19. Web site: x.com . 2024-06-01 . X (formerly Twitter).
  20. Web site: Japanese Billionaire Yusaku Maezawa Is Heading To The International Space Station In December. Valerie. Stimac. Forbes. 14 May 2021. 14 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210514125825/https://www.forbes.com/sites/valeriestimac/2021/05/13/japanese-billionaire-yusaku-maezawa-announces-new-space-tourism-flight-plan-for-late-2021/. live.
  21. Web site: Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa to travel to ISS in December. 13 May 2021. The Japan Times. 14 May 2021. 23 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210523185342/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/05/13/national/billionaire-maezawa-to-travel-to-iss-in-december/. live.
  22. Web site: Wanted! 100 Things You Want MZ To Do in Space!. 2021-08-18. Wanted! 100 Things You Want MZ To Do in Space!. en. 26 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210526081150/http://www.yusakumaezawa.com/iss2021/en/. live.
  23. Web site: Space exploration in 2021. www.russianspaceweb.com.
  24. Web site: Russian rocket blasts off carrying Japanese billionaire to ISS. 2021-12-08. www.aljazeera.com. en.
  25. Web site: 2021-12-08. Space Tourist Billionaire Maezawa Blasts Off to Space - December 8, 2021. 2021-12-08. Daily News Brief. en-US.
  26. News: 20 December 2021 . "前澤友作 全員お金贈りfrom宇宙"が『kifutown』を通じて本日12月19日(日)より開始 . Japanese . 2021-12-20 . 20 December 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211220040600/https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=000000010.000076768&g=prt . dead .
  27. News: 8 December 2021 . Another billionaire is blasting into space — and he said he'll give away cash to people on earth while he's in orbit . . 2021-12-20.
  28. News: 19 December 2021 . 前澤友作さん、「宇宙から全員お金贈り」スタートしサーバーがパンク「宇宙から地上に駆けつけたいくらい」 . Japanese . . 2021-12-20 . 20 December 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211220040609/https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/culture/hochi/20211219064-OHT1T51156/ . dead .
  29. LIVE: Japanese space tourists speak after returning to Earth. en. 2021-12-22. YouTube.
  30. 1081544630754103296. yousuck2020. ZOZOTOWN新春セールが史上最速で取扱高100億円を先ほど突破！！日頃の感謝を込め、僕個人から100名様に100万円【総額1億円のお年玉】を現金でプレゼントします。応募方法は、僕をフォローいただいた上、このツイートをRTするだけ。受付は1/7まで。当選者には僕から直接DMします！ #月に行くならお年玉. 5 January 2019.
  31. 1212025675055452160. yousuck2020. 謹賀新年【総額10億円】#前澤お年玉 100万円を1000人にプレゼントします！100万円で皆さまの人生がよりハッピーになりますように。応募方法は僕のフォローとこのツイートのリツイート。締切は1月7日23:59まで。企画趣旨や当選条件などはYouTubeで説明してます。https://youtu.be/JfulqIBiVfQ. 31 December 2019.
  32. News: Who Is Yusaku Maezawa, the Japanese Billionaire Seeking a 'Special Woman' for Space — and Life?. Elizabeth. Paton. The New York Times . 13 January 2020. NYTimes.com.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Yusaku Maezawa".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.