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Japanese billionaire regrets losing US$41 million in stock trading

Zozo founder Yusaku Maezawa attends a news conference Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, in Tokyo. Yahoo Japan Corp. said Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019 it will put up a tender offer, estimated at 400 billion yen ($3.7 billion), for Zozo Inc., a Japanese online retailer started by a celebrity tycoon. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Yusaku Maezawa, billionaire founder of Japanese online fashion store Zozo, 12 September 2019. (PHOTO: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

By Min Jeong Lee and Komaki Ito

(Bloomberg) -- A Japanese billionaire said on Twitter that he had lost 4.4 billion yen ($41.4 million) by trading stocks amid volatile swings triggered by the pandemic.

In a tweet titled “Deep Regrets,” Yusaku Maezawa, founder and former chief executive of online fashion retailer Zozo Inc., said he lost money through day trading -- a practice he has failed to master. He expressed regret over the sum he had lost and vowed to recover it through his business.

【猛省】このコロナ禍で乱高下する株式市場に目が眩み、慣れない短期売買を繰り返した結果 #株式投資で44億円の損失 を出してしまったことをここに報告します。44億円もあったら、いったいどれほどの人にお金が配れ、どれほどの人を救えたのか。悔やんでも悔やみきれません。事業で絶対に取返します。

— 前澤友作┃フォロワー1000万人記念企画実施中 (@yousuck2020) September 6, 2020

“I was blinded by the virus-driven market swings and lost 4.4 billion yen through repeated short-term trading of stocks, something I haven’t familiarized myself with,” Maezawa said in the Sunday tweet. “With 4.4 billion yen, how many people could the money have been given out to and saved? There’s no end to this regret.”

Maezawa, whose net worth dropped by about $215 million this year to $3.5 billion according to Bloomberg-compiled data, is well-known for pulling stunts on Twitter. Earlier this year, Maezawa said he’s looking for female applicants to be his companion on his planned trip to the moon on Elon Musk’s rocket in 2023. He scrapped the plan after facing backlash over the process.

Followers have shown mixed responses to his latest tweet on stock trading, with some showing sympathy and some expressing awe over the extent of the losses.

© 2020 Bloomberg L.P.