• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
TechSoftbank

SoftBank Shareholder Criticizes President Nikesh Arora

By
Erin Griffith
Erin Griffith
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Erin Griffith
Erin Griffith
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 23, 2016, 1:06 PM ET
SoftBank leaders special lecture
SoftBank Chairman & CEO Masayoshi Son and group President & COO Nikesh Arora attend companys special lecture in Tokyo, Japan on October 22, 2015. SoftBank Chairman & CEO Masayoshi Son and group President & COO Nikesh Arora discuss the SoftBank Group's Global Strategy, Leadership and other themes in a special fireside lecture (without fire) as part of the SoftBank Academia series. Via the series, which is also broadcast via webcast, SoftBank hopes to inspire and recruit potential leaders of the company. (Photo by Shingo Ito/AFLO)Photograph by Shingo Ito — AFLO

A group of SoftBank shareholders, led by a Swiss consultant named Nicolas Giannakopoulos, has called for an internal investigation of company president Nikesh Arora, according to Bloomberg.

A “sharply critical” letter sent by the shareholders to SoftBank in January accuses Arora, the Japanese telecom giant’s second-in-command, of making bad deals, earning too much money, and having conflicts of interest. But absent of some misconduct that the shareholders have not yet revealed, it appears to be a flimsy set of allegations. (Via email, Giannakopoulos directed me to an associate who did not respond to request for comment.)

Regarding the bad deals, Arora’s mandate was initially to make investments in media and entertainment companies. One of those deals, DramaFever, didn’t pan out, and SoftBank has since sold it. When Arora was promoted to president, he began investing in mature tech startups, mostly in emerging markets. One of those deals, Housing.com, has been a failure. It’s too soon to tell how well SoftBank will fare on the rest of Arora’s deals, which include highly valued startups such as SoFi, Ola Cabs, SnapDeal, and Oyo Rooms. Venture capital investments, even at the late stage in which SoftBank is investing, can take years to pay off.

But the biggest reason the “bad deal” argument is flimsy is because SoftBank’s founder and CEO Masayoshi Son is himself an erratic dealmaker. He is known for taking big, bold risks, which sometimes create big rewards, as with SoftBank’s investment in the Japanese arm of Vodafone, and which sometimes nearly tank the company, as happened during the tech bubble crash of 2001.

Regarding the excessive pay, Arora does not come cheap. To align his interests with SoftBank’s, last year he took on personal debt to buy $483 million worth of SoftBank stock. He can also take some credit for SoftBank’s 500 billion yen share buyback, which has helped boost the company’s slumping share price this year.

Lastly, Giannakopoulos’ group has accused Arora of a potential conflict of interest with private equity firm Silver Lake. Silicon Valley is so clubby and interconnected that every power player seems to have ten different conflicts so, when conflicts arise, the Conflicted Ones recuse themselves from negotiations. Regardless of whether a conflict exists, the mere appearance of one can lead to problems. Activist investor Carl Icahn used that argument against Marc Andreessen to split up eBay (EBAY) and PayPal (PYPL).

Arora has defended his advisory role at Silver Lake, telling Bloomberg he only spends 10 to 20 hours a year advising the firm and that he may end the relationship when his contract ends. That lines up with what he told me last year, as part of a profile I wrote in November. I asked Arora who he turns to for advice. He mentioned Yahoo (YHOO) founder Jerry Yang, his boss Masayoshi Son, and Egon Durban, a managing partner and managing director at Silver Lake. I asked which companies he advises at Silver Lake. His response is below:

Oh, I don’t do any companies. I met Egon in London 11 years ago, he had just moved there. I had just gotten off of an advisory gig at Apax because I didn’t feel like I had connected, so I said, “No I’m not doing it anymore.” A Spencer Stuart headhunter who helped me hire all the people for my first startup said, “Look, you have to meet this guy.” So I met Egon.

I said, “I don’t want to do board meetings, I don’t want to sit in rooms, I don’t want to be bored to death.” He said, “It’s very simple. I’ll call you for advice when I need you and if you are not conflicted, you tell me what you think. And if you’re conflicted, just tell me, ‘I’m conflicted’ and I won’t ask.” So that’s the arrangement.

About the Author
By Erin Griffith
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

How Grab’s CTO sees the superapp’s push into physical AI and automated driving—and why he uses his competitors’ robots in the office
AITransportation
How Grab’s CTO sees the superapp’s push into physical AI and automated driving—and why he uses his competitors’ robots in the office
By Angelica AngMay 22, 2026
2 hours ago
Trump AI and crpto czar David Sacks sits next to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at a dinner table in the White House as Zuckerberg turns to Sacks and says something.
AIAmerican Politics
Tech billionaires convinced Trump to back off an AI executive order. But much of MAGA favors AI regulation
By Jeremy KahnMay 22, 2026
2 hours ago
James Daunt sits in a booksop, gesturing with both hands and smiling.
AIbooks
Barnes & Noble CEO clarifies the bookseller’s stance on AI-written books after refusing to ban them: ‘This is a straightforward rejection of AI books’
By Sasha RogelbergMay 22, 2026
4 hours ago
A photo taken during the Maroon Bells bicycle ride during Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2019 in Aspen, Colorado. (Photo: Fortune)
InnovationBrainstorm Tech
Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2026 will be brilliant
By Andrew NuscaMay 22, 2026
4 hours ago
satya nadella
AITech
Microsoft reports are exposing AI’s real cost problem: Using the tech is more expensive than paying human employees
By Jake AngeloMay 22, 2026
6 hours ago
Sam Altman standing in a lift.
AIOpenAI
The big questions looming over OpenAI’s trillion-dollar IPO
By Beatrice NolanMay 22, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
1 day ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
2 days ago
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
3 days ago
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
Workplace Culture
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
By Sydney LakeMay 20, 2026
2 days ago
McKinsey partner says up to 50% of work hours could be transformed within the next 5 years
AI
McKinsey partner says up to 50% of work hours could be transformed within the next 5 years
By Emma BurleighMay 21, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of May 21, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 21, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 21, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.