SoftBank doubled pay for Vision Fund boss as company posted record loss
Misra earned 1.61 billion yen ($15 million) in total compensation for the fiscal year that ended in March, more than double his pay a year earlier, SoftBank said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The vast majority of that package, nearly 1.42 billion yen ($13.2 million), was base pay, with the rest noted as “other” compensation.
Meanwhile, the Vision Fund suffered operating losses of 1.9 trillion yen ($17.7 billion) for the period. Grappling with business missteps and the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, SoftBank had to write down the valuations of 47 companies in the fund, including startups like WeWork and Oyo.
Misra’s compensation package is “high,” and it’s “hard to see how it could be based on performance,” said Dan Baker, an analyst with research firm Morningstar. SoftBank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said at an earnings presentation earlier this month that he expects around 15 of the Vision Fund’s 88 portfolio companies to go bankrupt.
Son earned 209 million yen ($1.9 million), a 9% pay cut compared to the previous year. Roughly 40% of that was paid out in stock options.