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Japan's richest lose $2.4B today

Friday, October 12 08:47:31

Japan's richest man, Tadashi Yanai, and the nation's second wealthiest, Masayoshi Son, lost a combined $2.4 billion in net worth today as shares in the companies they founded plunged. Yanai, the chairman of Fast Retailing Co., lost $1.1 billion to $10.3 billion, as shares in Asia's biggest clothing retailer closed down 9.9 percent in Tokyo. Softbank Corp. President Son's net worth slid $1.3 billion to $7.7 billion after Japan's third-largest mobile Internet company said it's in talks to acquire a substantial stake in Sprint Nextel Corp. Softbank stock dived 16.8 percent.

The fortunes of both men are driven by their public holdings. Yanai had an estimated net worth of $11.4 billion as of 5:30 P.M New York time yesterday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He and his family control about 45.8 percent of Fast Retailing, and those holdings account for 96 percent of his wealth. Son's fortune, of which 92 percent comes from equity in Softbank, was valued at $9.1 billion yesterday. He owns 20.9 percent in the company. Yanai is also a Softbank board member and holds 120,000 shares in Son's company. Fast Retailing shares tumbled the most in more than a year after the company forecast annual profit that was lower than analysts' estimates. The seller of Uniqlo brand casual wear said its stores in China, South Korea, the U.K. and the U.S. missed revenue targets.

Softbank Drops Softbank plummeted -- the biggest decline since March 2000 -- amid concern that turning around Sprint Nextel would be too costly. Softbank is seeking majority control of the U.S. carrier, two people familiar with the matter said. "Investors tend to worry more about the financial burdens initially when it comes to any major purchases, rather than hopes for growth," said Takashi Oba, a senior strategist at Okasan Securities Co.