Hiroshi Mikitani

Hiroshi Mikitani is a Japanese billionaire businessman and writer. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of Rakuten, Inc. He is also the president of Crimson Group, chairman of the football club Vissel Kobe, chairman of Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and a board member of Lyft. 

  • Mikitani is founder and CEO of Rakuten, Japan’s biggest e-commerce retailer.
  • In 2017 he struck multi-year sponsorship deals worth $120 million with two sports teams: NBA’s Golden State Warriors and soccer team FC Barcelona.
  • In 2016 Rakuten shut down retail operations in the U.K., Austria and Spain.
  • In 2015, Rakuten invested $300 million in ride-sharing firm Lyft, an Uber competitor, and Mikitani joined Lyft‘s board.
  • Rakuten spent $900 million in 2014 to buy messaging service Viber, which competes with Facebook‘s WhatsApp.

Crimson Group Hiroshi Mikitani Lyft okyo Philharmonic Orchestra Rakuten Inc Vissel Kobe