Hiroshi Mikitani

About Hiroshi Mikitani

Birth Day: March 11, 1965
Birth Place: Tokyo, Japan, Japan
Alma mater: Hitotsubashi University Harvard University
Occupation: Founder, CEO & Chairman, Rakuten, Inc. (1997-present)
Years active: 1988–present
Spouse(s): Haruko Mikitani (m. 1993)
Children: 2
Website: Hiroshi Mikitani Twitter account Hiroshi Mikitani English Twitter account

Hiroshi Mikitani

Hiroshi Mikitani was born on March 11, 1965 in Tokyo, Japan, Japan. Mikitani is founder and CEO of Rakuten, Japan's biggest e-commerce retailer. In 2016 Rakuten shut down retail operations in the U.K., Austria and Spain. In 2015, Rakuten invested $300 million in ride-sharing app and Uber competitor Lyft. Rakuten spent $900 million in 2014 to buy messaging service Viber, which competes with Facebook's WhatsApp. Rakuten led a $100 million investment round in Pinterest in 2012.
Hiroshi Mikitani is a member of Technology

Does Hiroshi Mikitani Dead or Alive?

As per our current Database, Hiroshi Mikitani is still alive (as per Wikipedia, Last update: May 10, 2020).

🎂 Hiroshi Mikitani - Age, Bio, Faces and Birthday

Currently, Hiroshi Mikitani is 59 years, 7 months and 2 days old. Hiroshi Mikitani will celebrate 60rd birthday on a Tuesday 11th of March 2025. Below we countdown to Hiroshi Mikitani upcoming birthday.

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Popular As Hiroshi Mikitani
Occupation Technology
Age 59 years old
Zodiac Sign Aries
Born March 11, 1965 (Tokyo, Japan, Japan)
Birthday March 11
Town/City Tokyo, Japan, Japan
Nationality Japan

🌙 Zodiac

Hiroshi Mikitani’s zodiac sign is Aries. According to astrologers, the presence of Aries always marks the beginning of something energetic and turbulent. They are continuously looking for dynamic, speed and competition, always being the first in everything - from work to social gatherings. Thanks to its ruling planet Mars and the fact it belongs to the element of Fire (just like Leo and Sagittarius), Aries is one of the most active zodiac signs. It is in their nature to take action, sometimes before they think about it well.

🌙 Chinese Zodiac Signs

Hiroshi Mikitani was born in the Year of the Snake. Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Snake are seductive, gregarious, introverted, generous, charming, good with money, analytical, insecure, jealous, slightly dangerous, smart, they rely on gut feelings, are hard-working and intelligent. Compatible with Rooster or Ox.

Some Hiroshi Mikitani images

Biography/Timeline

1965

Hiroshi Mikitani (三木谷浩史, Mikitani Hiroshi) (born March 11, 1965) is a Japanese Billionaire businessman and the founder, chairman and CEO of Rakuten, Inc. He is also the President of Crimson Group, chairman of the football club Rakuten Vissel Kobe, chairman of Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and a board member of Lyft. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, as of August 2017, Mikitani is worth $7.1 billion.

1972

His Father, Ryoichi Mikitani, was an Economist who 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 mother, Setsuko, went to elementary school in New York City, before returning to Kobe. After her graduation from Kobe University, she worked for a trading company. His sister Ikuko is a physician (MD in Osaka University). His brother Kenichi is a professor of biology at the University of Tokyo. His grandfather was a co-founder of Minolta.

1988

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

1993

Mikitani and his wife Haruko have two children. They were married in 1993.

1995

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. In 2014 the team was acquired by Rakuten.

1997

In 1996, Mikitani started looking at various Business Models, and decided to launch an online shopping mall. At the time, Netscape was around, Amazon.com had recently launched, and Google didn't yet exist. 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. 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. He was named chairman of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011.

2004

Mikitani had joined Keidanren, the powerful Japanese Business federation, in 2004. In June 2011, in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, he quit the federation, announcing his decision via Twitter before sending in his formal letter of resignation, saying it was no longer the same organization he had joined, and he disagreed with its support for continued reliance on the nuclear industry for electricity, and its reluctance to carry out reforms that could help Japan compete internationally. He subsequently pondered setting up a rival body.

2010

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

2012

In 2012, Mikitani was awarded the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, one of the school's highest honors. He was also named to Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's Industrial Competitiveness Council.

2014

In 2014, Mikitani was awarded the rank of Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour by the French government.

2017

In 2017, Mikitani was awarded the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. and the 2017 Spain-Japan Business Contribution Award by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce.

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