Masayoshi Son may be less of a technology guru, more a die-hard capitalist

With the Vision Fund fully deployed, and the second iteration likely a lot smaller, Son may have trouble offloading his startup stakes

This is the year that brought a $100 billion venture capitalist to his knees. 

In January, SoftBank Group Corp’s Masayoshi Son was riding high, writing billion-dollar checks to unicorns from office-sharing startup WeWork to autonomous-delivery vehicle designer Nuro. But as 2019 winds down, the Japanese dealmaker is straining to finance a $9.5 billion bailout package for Adam Neumann’s troubled startup, whose valuation has evaporated from $47 billion to $8 billion — or even zero, depending whom you ask. 

SoftBank’s bad year goes well beyond WeWork. Investors are starting to get the feeling that whatever Son brings to the public is troubled. And