THE Japanese billionaire who Tesla chief Elon Musk says plans to blast off on the first-ever private commercial space trip aboard the SpaceX Big Falcon Rocket often makes headlines in Japan. The SpaceX mission, set for takeoff in 2023, is just the latest exploit in tycoon Yusaka Maezawa’s colorful and ambitious career:
Fashion Brand
Maezawa, 42, is the chief executive of Start Today Co., which he founded in 1998 as a CD sales business when he was still in his 20s. The company pioneered e-commerce in Japan and now runs the popular fashion mall Zozotown, selling various, relatively affordable clothing brands.
The Money
Forbes magazine estimates Maezawa’s wealth at $2.9 billion. In a nation where billionaires are relatively rare, he gets attention for his celebrity friends and for zipping around in a private jet and a fleet of sports cars.
Musical Beginnings
Maezawa’s trademark defiant but disarming style may be rooted in his start as a musician, playing drums in indie rock bands. The punk band he was in, called Switch Style, signed with a major Japanese record label. He opted out of attending prestigious Waseda University in Tokyo to pursue music.
Art Collection
Maezawa has invested lavishly in art, collecting works by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, among others, and in designer-brand furniture from abroad.
The Suit
Maezawa has recently shown off a wearable technology called the Zozosuit, the centerpiece of his Zozo fashion brand. Customers first order a black, body-hugging outfit covered with white dots. They then take a smartphone photo wearing the outfit which is used to do a full body scan, determining shapes and sizes with a special app.
Space Trip
Maezawa says the planned trip to space is a way “to inspire the dreamer in all of us.” He plans to take six or eight artists, architects and designers with him. He hasn’t said who they might be or how much he is paying for the trip. The idea is for those creative minds to see the moon up close and planet Earth from afar. “I choose to go to the moon, with artists,” Maezawa tweeted both in Japanese and English. AP