Age, Biography and Wiki

Hiroshi Mikitani was born on 11 March, 1965 in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese billionaire business magnate and writer. Discover Hiroshi Mikitani's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 59 years old?

Popular As N/A
Occupation Founder & CEO, Rakuten, Inc. (1997-present)
Age 59 years old
Zodiac Sign Pisces
Born 11 March 1965
Birthday 11 March
Birthplace Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
Nationality Japan

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 11 March. He is a member of famous Founder with the age 59 years old group. He one of the Richest Founder who was born in Japan.

Hiroshi Mikitani Height, Weight & Measurements

At 59 years old, Hiroshi Mikitani height not available right now. We will update Hiroshi Mikitani's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Who Is Hiroshi Mikitani's Wife?

His wife is Haruko Mikitani (m. 1993)

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Haruko Mikitani (m. 1993)
Sibling Not Available
Children 2

Hiroshi Mikitani Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Hiroshi Mikitani worth at the age of 59 years old? Hiroshi Mikitani’s income source is mostly from being a successful Founder. He is from Japan. We have estimated Hiroshi Mikitani's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 5.9 billion USD (2020)
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income Founder

Hiroshi Mikitani Social Network

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Timeline

1965

Hiroshi Mikitani (三木谷浩史) (born March 11, 1965) is a Japanese billionaire business magnate and writer.

He is the founder 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 was born in 1965 and raised in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.

His father Ryōichi Mikitani served as Chairman of Japan Society Of Monetary Economics and was a professor at Kobe University.

His mother Setsuko was a graduate of Kobe University and worked for a trading company; she had attended elementary school in New York.

Through his paternal grandmother, he claims descent from Honda Tadakatsu, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.

His grandmother was born to a noble family which had fallen on hard times, and raised Mikitani's father as a single mother while running a tobacco store.

His grandfather was a businessman active in New York, and was a co-founder of Minolta.

1972

Ryōichi was Japan's first Fulbright Scholar to the US and taught for two years at Yale University; during that time, from 1972 to 1974, the family lived in New Haven, Connecticut.

His sister Ikuko is a physician (MD in Osaka University), and his brother Kenichi is a professor of biology at the University of Tokyo.

1988

Mikitani attended Hitotsubashi University, graduating in 1988 with a degree in commerce.

Mikitani worked at the Industrial Bank of Japan (now part of Mizuho Corporate Bank) from 1988 to 1996, with a break from 1991 to 1993 to attend Harvard Business School.

He left to start his own consulting group, called Crimson Group.

1995

Mikitani has stated that the destruction caused by the devastating 1995 Kobe earthquake made him realize he wanted to help revitalize Japan’s economy, leading to his resignation from banking and decision to start his own business.

In 1995, after an earthquake in Kobe caused significant damage so that the city could no longer maintain the Vissel Kobe football club, Mikitani was asked to take over operations of the team.

He purchased the team later that year through his company Crimson Group.

1996

In 1996, Mikitani began venturing into the high technology business and started looking at various business models, and decided to launch an online shopping mall.

1997

On February 7, 1997, Mikitani founded the e-commerce company MDM, Inc. with three co-founders and US$250,000 of their own money, launching the online marketplace Rakuten Ichiba in Japan on May 1, 1997.

1999

The company was renamed Rakuten, Inc. in 1999, and Mikitani took it public on the JASDAQ in 2000.

In founding the company, Mikitani envisioned an online marketplace focusing on the exchange between buyers and sellers, as a hybrid between eBay and Amazon.com.

It started as a small online marketplace with 13 shops and 6 employees, and has since grown into "an e-commerce giant".

2001

Mikitani has been president of Rakuten since its founding, and in 2001 he also became chairman.

Among his other titles are Chairman of Rakuten Travel, Chairman of Rakuten Vissel Kobe football club, Director of PriceMinister, Director (Chairman) of Rakuten Kobo, and Chairman, Representative Director and team owner of Rakuten Baseball.

2004

In 2004, the Japanese Pacific League, amidst financial difficulties, dropped two teams, leading to a player strike.

Mikitani was approached by league officials about putting together an expansion team in Sendai, which would be named the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Mikitani had joined Keidanren, the Japanese business federation in 2004.

2005

Mikitani rebuilt, restored and renovated the stadium in Sendai, prior to the team's inaugural season in 2005.

2010

In 2010, Mikitani changed Rakuten's focus, as the company began expanding outside Japan, with acquisitions of overseas e-commerce sites including Buy.com of the US (now Rakuten.com), PriceMinister of France, and continuing with companies including Canadian e-book service Kobo (now Rakuten Kobo), US cashback site Ebates (now Rakuten Rewards), and Cyprus-based messaging app Viber (now Rakuten Viber), and minority stakes in online scrapbooking site Pinterest and ride-hailing app Lyft (where Mikitani serves as a board member).

Rakuten has business units including travel, e-books, credit cards, online shopping, banking and the Rakuten Golden Eagles baseball team.

Beginning in March 2010, Mikitani implemented a plan that he calls "Englishnization", making English the primary language of Rakuten within two years.

While the plan was dismissed as "stupid" by Honda president Takanobu Ito in 2010, Mikitani believes that "English is not an advantage anymore – it is a requirement."

He considers the Japanese company's fluency in English, with meetings and reporting done in English, to be a strong advantage for the company globally.

2011

In 2011, Mikitani's Englishnization initiative was featured in a Harvard Business Review case study.

He was named chairman of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011.

2013

The Golden Eagles won the 2013 Japan Series, two years after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Sendai and the Tōhoku region.

2014

In 2014 the team was acquired by Rakuten.

2017

By 2017, Rakuten had over 14,000 employees, over 42,000 shops on its e-commerce sites, and sales of nearly US$6 billion, with over 100 million members in Japan.

In 2017, Mikitani partnered with his friend FC Barcelona player Gerard Piqué to co-found Kosmos Holding.

A holding company and investment group to invest in companies based in the sports, media, and entertainment industries.

2018

In 2018, Kosmos Holding acquired the Davis Cup Tennis property, and Spanish Futbol Club FC Andorra.