SoftBank invested $20 million in Alibaba in 2000. 14 years later, that tiny stake was worth more than $50 billion after its blockbuster IPO

In 2000, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son invested $20 million in Alibaba, the Chinese online marketplace founded by Jack Ma. The company had little revenue, and investors had passed on Ma’s idea. Alibaba was also helped by a $1 billion investment from Yahoo in 2005. When it went public in 2014, its IPO raised $25 billion. SoftBank’s stake was worth tens of billions, making the bet one of tech investing’s standout deals.