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 Living on the Edge
Livedoor CEO Takafumi Horie is entangled in a fraud investigation, rattling stock markets and raising doubts about Japan's economic recovery |
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Japan's Self-Made Maverick
In less than a decade, Takafumi Horie built an empire—and made plenty of enemies along the way |
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Viewpoint: Collateral Damage
Livedoor's woes may be a setback for corporate reform |
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Hip Quotient
Measuring Japan's gross national cool
[08/11/2003] |
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 Indicates premium content |
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| Japan's Self-Made Maverick |
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In less than a decade, Takafumi Horie built an empire—and made plenty of enemies along the way |
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By Jim Frederick | Tokyo |
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Posted Monday, January 23, 2006; 20:00 HKT
April, 1996
At 23, Horie launches Livin' on the Edge, a Web consultancy. He soon drops out of college, later remarking: "Didn't Bill Gates drop out of Harvard?"
April, 2000
His firm is listed on Mothers, Tokyo's stock market for start-ups. He later uses funds from the listing to buy Livedoor, an Internet services provider. Livedoor goes on to make dozens of acquisitions of other firms.
June, 2004
Horie grabs the spotlight with an offer to bail out a debt-ridden baseball team, the Kintetsu Buffaloes. Team owners reject his bid. "They're smug," says Horie.
January, 2005
Horie adds to his rebel reputation with a hostile takeover bid for Nippon Broadcasting, the radio arm of Fuji TV, Japan's largest commercial station. The clash is resolved after Livedoor agrees to sell the Nippon stock it had amassed, while Fuji agrees to invest in Livedoor.
August, 2005
Prime Minister Koizumi taps Horie as an "assassin" to run for office against one of Koizumi's toughest critics. Horie loses by 13%.
October 15, 2005
Horie joins an effort to start a space-tourism business that proposes to launch customers into orbit in cramped Russian-made capsules.
January 16, 2006
Investigators raid Livedoor's headquarters and Horie's apartment, seeking evidence of securities fraud.
January 18, 2006
A flood of orders to sell Livedoor stock forces the Tokyo Exchange to close 20 minutes early for the first time in its history.
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Living It Up [Nov. 07, 2005]
From septuagenarian mountaineers to nonagenarian CEOs, Japan's greatest generation refuses to quit
A Sharper Focus [Sep. 19, 2005]
While rivals like Sony are struggling, Sharp has become Japan's hottest electronics firm by playing to its strengths
Koizumi's War [Sep. 12, 2005]
In Japan's parliamentary elections, the Prime Minister is out to devastate his foes, transform his party and challenge the status quo. Is it suicide--or genius?
A Deepening Divide [Aug. 22, 2005]
Japan likes to think of itself as one giant middle class. But wrenching economic and social shifts are splitting the nation into ranks of haves and have-nots
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