Son had made a similar pledge in 2016 to spend $50bn over Trump’s four-year term. It’s unclear how SoftBank will fund the new investment.
President-elect Donald Trump, with SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son at his side, has announced that SoftBank will invest $100bn in the United States over the next four years in what would be a boost to the domestic economy.
In a joint appearance with Son on Monday, Trump said that the investment would create 100,000 jobs focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and related infrastructure, with the money to be deployed before the end of Trump’s term.
Trump said the investment was evidence of “monumental confidence in America’s future”. He playfully encouraged Son to make the investment $200bn with the Japanese billionaire responding that he would try.
The $100bn pledge, made at a flag-bedecked event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, fits in with Trump’s vow to bolster the US economy and reduce the effect of inflation on Americans during his second term, which begins on January 20.
Trump called Son “one of the most accomplished business leaders of our time”.
The Monday announcement echoes a similar pledge that Son made with then-President-elect Trump at an event at Trump Tower in New York City in December 2016, when Son said he would spend $50bn and create 50,000 jobs.
While that money was eventually spent, it is unclear whether those jobs were created. The company has been rebuilding its finances after…
