This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Japan’s Richest 2026. See the full list here.

A stock market bull run, driven by the global AI frenzy, lifted the benchmark Nikkei 225 index nearly 70% since we last measured fortunes, though the weaker yen took its toll. Overall, the wealth of the 50 richest tycoons grew 29% to $294 billion.

Gains this year were concentrated among a few listees—14 fortunes were up—with SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son bringing in a record haul and reclaiming the No. 1 spot after a four-year gap. Son’s net worth swelled by $51.8 billion or 184% to $80 billion, making him the biggest gainer in both percentage and dollar terms. SoftBank reported a record net profit of ¥5 trillion($31 billion) for the year ended Mar. 31, following its multibillion dollar investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

Uniqlo billionaire Tadashi Yanai slipped to second place, despite his wealth rising more than a third to $65 billion, boosted by solid growth........

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