Yusaku Maezawa, a prominent Japanese entrepreneur, made headlines as the first commercial passenger set to embark on a journey to the Moon. Renowned for his ownership of the popular online fashion website, ‘Zozotown,’ Yusaku is also recognized as one of Japan’s leading businessmen. Additionally, he boasts a significant social media presence, with a verified Instagram page boasting over 199,000 followers and an official Twitter page with more than 345,000 followers.
Quick Facts
- Age: 48 Years
- Gender: Male
- Occupation: IT & Software Entrepreneur
- Nationality: Japanese
- Founder/Co-Founder: START TODAY CO.,LTD.
Childhood & Early Life
Yusaku Maezawa was born on November 22, 1975, in Kamagaya, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He attended Waseda Jitsugyo High School, where he was a member of a band called Switch Style. The band even released an extended play in 1993. After high school, Yusaku moved to the United States with his girlfriend. While in the US, he started collecting records and CDs, which would later become the foundation for his first company. He returned to Japan in 1995 and started his first company, which sold imported CDs and albums. The idea of selling foreign music CDs through mail was successful, which encouraged Yusaku to come up with similar business plans.
Career
Yusaku used the money he earned from his first business to start a company called Start Today. The company was established on May 21, 1998, and by 2000, it began selling clothing online. Four years later, Start Today launched its retail clothing website, Zozotown, which became one of the largest online fashion retail websites in Japan. The company later launched brands such as Zozo and Zozosuit, becoming a major online retail brand in Japan. Zozosuit, which offers custom-fit clothes, has customers in over 72 countries. The current head office of Start Today is located in Chiba, Japan.
Love for Art
In 2012, Yusaku Maezawa founded the Contemporary Art Foundation to support young and contemporary artists. He has always been an art lover and has an impressive collection of artworks from around the world. He made headlines in May 2016 when he purchased several artworks at an auction, including an untitled work by Jean-Michel Basquiat for a record price of $57.3 million. He spent over $98 million at the auction over a period of two days. In May 2017, he broke the record for the costliest purchase at an auction by buying another artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat for $110.5 million. Yusaku plans to open a museum in Chiba to display his extraordinary art collection. He is so passionate about art that he has decided to take a small group of artists on his first voyage to the Moon.
Flying Across Barriers
On September 17, 2018, SpaceX announced that Yusaku Maezawa would be the first-ever commercial passenger to fly to the Moon. As part of their lunar tourism mission, SpaceX has been developing a fully reusable launch vehicle called BFR. The company is confident in sending its customers to the Moon, with Yusaku as its first passenger. The flight is set to happen in 2023, and Yusaku has started a project called “Dear Moon.” Through this project, he aims to inspire artists from all over the world by inviting painters, musicians, film directors, and fashion designers to fly to the Moon with him.
Personal Life
In addition to his business and art endeavors, Yusaku Maezawa is also passionate about music. He played the drums in a band during his youth, and his band even signed with a major record label, Bertelsmann Music Group. However, he took a break from his music career in 2001 to focus on his business. As of May 2017, Forbes estimated his net worth to be around $3.6 billion, making him one of the richest business tycoons in Japan. Yusaku is active on social media and has thousands of followers on Twitter and Instagram. Details about his relationships are scarce, but it is known that he is currently divorced and has a child.