is a Japanese

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

businessman and the founder and president of Fast Retailing, the parent company of

Uniqlo ( ; ) is a Japanese casual wear designer and retailer. The company is a subsidiary of Fast Retailing, Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. Clare Waight Keller is the creative director. History Men's Shop OS was founded in Ube, Yamaguchi. It was rebrand ...

("unique clothing"). As of May 2025, he is the richest person in Japan, with an estimated net worth of US$50.3 billion, and the 28th-wealthiest person in the world according to '' Bloomberg Billionaires Index''.

Early life and education

Yanai was born in

Ube, Yamaguchi file:Tokiwa park.jpg, 270px, Tokiwa Park file:Ube city center area Aerial photograph.2009.jpg, 270px, Aerial photo of Ube city center file:Majimegawa River.JPG, 270px, Majimegawa River and central Ube is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamagu ...

, in February 1949. He attended Ube High School and later

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

, graduating in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. His uncle was an activist for the minority group known as ''

Burakumin The are a social grouping of Japanese people descended from members of the feudal class associated with , mainly those with occupations related to death such as executioners, gravediggers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers, and tanners. Bura ...

'', who have continued to suffer caste-based discrimination in employment and marriage in modern Japan.

Career

In 1971, Yanai started in business by selling

kitchenware :'' For a record label, see Kitchenware Records'' Kitchenware refers to the tools, utensils, appliances, dishes, and cookware used in food preparation and the serving of food. Kitchenware can also be used to hold or store food before or aft ...

and men's clothing at a JUSCO supermarket. After a year at JUSCO, he quit and joined his father's roadside tailor shop. Yanai opened his first

store in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

in 1984, and changed the name of his father's company ''Ogori Shoji'' to Fast Retailing in 1991. He has stated: "I might look successful but I've made many mistakes. People take their failures too seriously. You have to be positive and believe you will find success next time." In 2019, Yanai stepped down from the board of

Softbank is a Japanese multinational Investment company, investment holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, that focuses on investment management. The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services ...

after 18 years as an independent director at the Japanese technology conglomerate.Simon Duk
Uniqlo founder Tadashi Yanai quits Softbank board
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 28 December 2019

Published works

*''One Win, Nine Losses'' (1991) *''Throw Away Your Success in a Day'' (2009)

Awards and honours

*Yanai won the International Retailer of Year award for 2010 from the National Retail Federation in the US. He was the fourth Japanese national to win it, and the first since 1998, when it was won by Masatoshi Ito, owner and honorary chairman of the

Ito-Yokado is a Japanese Hypermarket, general merchandise, shopping center, grocery store and department store originally founded in 1920. In 2005, it was reorganized, as part of a corporate restructuring, as a subsidiary of the Seven & I Holdings Co. ...

retailing group. He was also chosen as best company president in a survey of Japanese corporate executives by Sanno Institute of Management in 2008 and 2009. *In 2012 he was included in the 50 Most Influential list of ''

Bloomberg Markets ''Bloomberg Markets'' is a magazine published six times a year by Bloomberg L.P. as part of Bloomberg News. Aimed at global financial professionals, ''Bloomberg Markets'' publishes articles on the people and issues related to global financial m ...

'' Magazine.

Philanthropy

In March 2011, Yanai donated 1 billion

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. T ...

to victims of the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

Personal life

He is the son of Kanichi Yanai and Hisako Mori Yanai. Yanai is married and has two sons, Kazumi and Koji, and lives in Tokyo. He lives in a $50 million, 16,586-square-foot house outside of Tokyo and owns two golf courses in Hawaii.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yanai, Tadashi 1949 births Living people Japanese billionaires Japanese businesspeople in fashion Japanese racehorse owners and breeders 20th-century Japanese businesspeople 21st-century Japanese businesspeople Waseda University alumni Fast Retailing Asia Game Changer Award winners