MASAYOSHI SON AND JACK MA PART WAYS

Softbank Group founder Masayoshi Son ended his company’s annual shareholder meeting with a surprise on Thursday by announcing he’s stepping down from the board of Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding.

The billionaire said his departure shouldn’t be interpreted as signifying any disagreements, even though Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma is quitting Softbank’s board at the same time. Ma and Son have maintained a close friendship since the Japanese entrepreneur was an early investor in Alibaba and helped it along to its current value of roughly $600 billion, calling it the crown jewel of Softbank’s portfolio.

“It’s not like we had a fight,” Son said during the virtual shareholder meeting. “This was perfectly amicable.”

While the mutual departures are unlikely to have an immediate impact on either company, they mark the end of an era. The two men are among the most successful entrepreneurs of their generation and have been able to rely on each other’s advice for decades. Son was on Alibaba’s board as it went public in 2014 in the largest initial public offering in history. When Softbank ran into trouble with investment losses this year, Son was able to use his Alibaba stake to raise much-needed capital. Alibaba remains Son’s most successful investment by far and Softbank’s most valuable asset. In early 2000, Son invested $20 million into the then-unknown web portal connecting Chinese manufacturers with overseas buyers, a stake that is now worth more than $150 billion. That spectacular return cemented his reputation as an investor and later helped him raise the $100 billion Vision Fund. Son has previously spoken highly of Ma.

“He had no business plan, zero revenue,” Son said about Ma on The David

Rubenstein Show. “But his eyes were very strong. I could tell from the way he talked, he has charisma, he has leadership.”

“IT’S NOT LIKE WE HAD A FIGHT. THIS WAS PERFECTLY AMICABLE,” SAID MASAYOSHI SON (left) Son is known for anointing the entrepreneurs he finds particularly promising as “the next Jack Ma” (right)