Yusaku Maezawa
| Yusaku Maezawa | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 前澤 友作 |
| Born |
November 22, 1975 Kamagaya, Chiba Prefecture, Japan |
| Residence | Chiba Prefecture, Japan[1] |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Businessperson |
| Years active | 1998 to present |
| Organization | Start Today, Zozotown |
| Net worth | US$ 2.6 billion (2015) |
| Spouse(s) | (Divorced) |
Yusaku Maezawa (前澤 友作 Maezawa Yūsaku) born 22 November 1975, is a Japanese entrepreneur and contemporary art collector. He founded the Start Today company in 1998 and online fashion retail website, Zozotown in 2004.[2] As of May 2016 he is estimated by Forbes to have a net worth of $2.6 billion and is the 17th richest person in Japan.[3]
Early life
Maezawa began attending Waseda Jitsugyo High School in 1991, where he started up a band with his classmates called SWITCH STYLE.[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 of bands that he liked.[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.[7]
Business
In 1998, Maezawa used the basis of the mail-order album business to launch the company Start Today. 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 joint stock 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]
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."[9] 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 work by the artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat.[10] At the same auction, Maezawa bought pieces by Bruce Nauman, Alexander Calder, Richard Prince, and Jeff Koons, spending a total purchase of $98 million over two days.[11] Maezawa plans to open a contemporary art museum in Chiba, which will house his collection.[12]
References
- ↑ "Profile". Forbes. Retrieved Jan 2012. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Japanese art enthusiast Yusaku Maezawa in $98m art spree". BBC News Online. 12 May 2016.
- ↑ "Japan's 50 Richest People". Forbes.com. Forbes.
- ↑ Adelstein, Mari Yamamoto|Jake (2016-05-13). "Meet Yusaku Maezawa, The Billionaire Entrepreneur Rocking The Art World". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
- ↑ "Switch Style". Discogs. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
- ↑ "「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 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2016-05-18.
- ↑ Adelstein, Mari Yamamoto|Jake (2016-05-13). "Meet Yusaku Maezawa, The Billionaire Entrepreneur Rocking The Art World". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
- ↑ Adelstein, Mari Yamamoto|Jake (2016-05-13). "Meet Yusaku Maezawa, The Billionaire Entrepreneur Rocking The Art World". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
- ↑ "Contemporary Art Foundation (Public Interest Corporation)". Contemporary Art Foundation. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
- ↑ Martinez, Alanna (11 May 2016). "$57M Basquiat Breaks Auction Record at Christie's". The Observer.
- ↑ Kazakina, Katya (2016-05-12). "Collector Maezawa drops $98 million on art in two days". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
- ↑ "Contemporary Art Foundation (Public Interest Corporation)". Contemporary Art Foundation. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
External links
- Personal profile (Japanese)