Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes are prominent business leaders, but they built their careers in very different industries. Son is the founder, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group and a major technology investor, while Gregory J. “Greg” Hayes is the former chairman and CEO of RTX and United Technologies, best known for leading major changes in the aerospace and defense industry.
There is no publicly documented family relationship, shared company, or direct business partnership between Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes. Their names are sometimes discussed together because both have led enormous multinational organizations and made consequential strategic decisions involving technology, infrastructure, manufacturing and corporate transformation.
Who Are Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes?
The two executives represent different models of corporate leadership. Son is a founder, major shareholder and long-term strategic investor whose fortune is closely connected to SoftBank’s holdings. Hayes followed a professional executive path through finance, operations and corporate restructuring before leading United Technologies and later RTX.
| Detail | Masayoshi Son | Greg Hayes |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Masayoshi Son | Gregory J. Hayes |
| Born | August 11, 1957 | 1960/1961; listed as age 65 in Phillips 66’s 2026 proxy |
| Education | Economics, University of California, Berkeley | Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Purdue University |
| Best known for | Founder and CEO of SoftBank Group | Former CEO and chairman of United Technologies and RTX |
| Main industries | Technology, telecom, investment, AI, semiconductors | Aerospace, defense, manufacturing |
| Current major role in 2026 | Chairman and CEO, SoftBank Group | Lead Independent Director, Phillips 66 |
| Major corporate achievement | Building SoftBank and investments including Alibaba, Arm and OpenAI | Reshaping UTC and leading its 2020 combination with Raytheon |
| Publicly verified wealth | Forbes estimated about $74.3 billion on September 15, 2026 | No reliable public net-worth estimate has been verified |
Son’s official SoftBank biography identifies him as Representative Director, Corporate Officer, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group as of June 24, 2026. Phillips 66 appointed Hayes as its Lead Independent Director on May 13, 2026, several months after he completed his transition away from RTX.
Masayoshi Son’s Rise From Entrepreneur to Global Investor
Masayoshi Son founded Nihon SoftBank, the company that became SoftBank Group, in 1981. His career developed alongside several major waves of the technology industry, from personal-computer software and internet services to telecommunications, mobile technology, semiconductor architecture and artificial intelligence.
Son graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1980 after studying economics. Berkeley itself has identified him as a 1980 economics graduate.
SoftBank initially built its business around software distribution. Over time, Son transformed the company into a much broader technology group. SoftBank expanded into Japanese telecommunications, made an exceptionally important early investment in Alibaba, acquired British semiconductor-design company Arm in 2016 and later created the SoftBank Vision Fund.
SoftBank’s official biography specifically identifies the Alibaba investment, Arm acquisition and creation of the Vision Fund among the major developments carried out under Son’s leadership.
Why Arm Became Central to Son’s Strategy
Son’s relationship with Arm is particularly important to understanding his current strategy. He became chairman and executive director of ARM Holdings in 2016 and is currently chairman and director of Arm Holdings.
Arm does not manufacture most of the chips associated with its technology. Its core business historically centered on semiconductor architecture and intellectual property used by other chip designers and manufacturers.
That makes Arm strategically important in smartphones, data centers, automotive systems and other computing markets. SoftBank now views it as a central asset in its attempt to build a much larger AI ecosystem.
Masayoshi Son’s AI Strategy in 2026
Artificial intelligence has become the defining focus of Son’s latest business strategy.
In SoftBank Group’s 2026 annual report, Son described four areas as essential to the company’s artificial-superintelligence strategy: frontier AI models, semiconductors, AI infrastructure and robotics. He identified OpenAI as a critical partner in AI models and Arm as a central component of SoftBank’s semiconductor strategy.
SoftBank disclosed that it had invested a cumulative $34.6 billion in OpenAI as of March 31, 2026 and had decided in February 2026 to make another $30 billion follow-on investment. The company also arranged substantial financing connected with that commitment.
Son is also chairman of the Stargate Project. Announced in January 2025, the project brought together SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and MGX as initial equity funders for a planned large-scale AI infrastructure buildout in the United States. SoftBank was assigned financial responsibility while OpenAI took operational responsibility.
This is a significant evolution from Son’s earlier role as primarily an investor in technology companies. SoftBank is increasingly attempting to connect investments across computing infrastructure, AI models, semiconductors, data centers and robotics.
Greg Hayes and His Rise Through United Technologies
Greg Hayes took a much different path.
Hayes earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Purdue University and became a certified public accountant. He entered United Technologies Corporation in 1999 when UTC combined with Sundstrand, where he had already worked. He later became UTC’s chief financial officer, serving in that position from 2008 until 2014.
In November 2014, UTC’s board selected Hayes as president and chief executive officer after Louis Chênevert retired. At the time, UTC described Hayes as a long-serving company executive with extensive responsibility for finance and investor relations.
He became chairman in 2016.
Hayes then oversaw a dramatic restructuring of United Technologies. The process included the sale of Sikorsky Aircraft in 2015, the acquisition of Rockwell Collins in 2018 and the separation of Carrier and Otis into independent companies in 2020.
Those moves left UTC increasingly focused on aerospace.
Greg Hayes and the Creation of RTX
Hayes’ most significant corporate transaction came when United Technologies combined its aerospace businesses with Raytheon Company.
The merger was completed in April 2020. Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace joined Raytheon’s defense businesses under the company initially known as Raytheon Technologies. The company was later renamed RTX.
Hayes became CEO of the combined organization and remained one of its central leaders during the years that followed. RTX credits him with leading the transformation of UTC from a diversified industrial conglomerate into a more focused aerospace and defense company.
His role changed on May 2, 2024, when Christopher T. Calio succeeded him as CEO. Hayes then became Executive Chairman.
RTX announced in February 2025 that Hayes would step down as Executive Chairman and leave its board on April 30, 2025. He subsequently remained with the company as Special Advisor to the CEO through January 2, 2026.
That means descriptions of Hayes as the current CEO or chairman of RTX are outdated in 2026.
What Is Greg Hayes Doing Now?
Hayes has shifted from day-to-day executive leadership toward board governance.
Phillips 66 appointed him Lead Independent Director effective May 13, 2026. He had already served on the company’s board since 2022 and chaired its Nominating and Governance Committee.
He is also a director of medical-technology company Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD. BD appointed Hayes to its board effective March 26, 2025, citing his experience with large corporate transformations, mergers, strategy and operational management.
Hayes also serves as chairman of the board of NAF, an education-focused nonprofit organization. NAF currently describes him as its chairman and former Executive Chairman of RTX.
His career therefore did not simply end with his departure from RTX. It shifted from running a large aerospace company to corporate-board and nonprofit leadership.
Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes: Are They Connected?
There is no established direct relationship between Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes in the available authoritative corporate records.
Son’s business network centers on SoftBank Group, Arm, OpenAI, AI infrastructure and technology investments. Hayes’ career has centered on United Technologies, RTX and, more recently, board positions at companies such as Phillips 66 and BD.
They are not known to be relatives. There is also no verified evidence that Hayes has served at SoftBank, that Son has held a role at RTX, or that the two jointly founded or managed a business.
The meaningful connection is therefore comparative rather than personal.
Both have been involved in industries where technology and large capital commitments matter, but they approached corporate strategy from different positions.
Son operates primarily as a founder, controlling shareholder and investor. Hayes developed as a finance-trained professional executive responsible for restructuring and operating established industrial businesses.
How Their Leadership Models Differ
Son’s influence is unusually closely connected to ownership. SoftBank reported that he held about 1.866 billion SoftBank Group shares as of June 1, 2026. The company’s ownership data placed his holding ratio at 32.73% as of March 31, 2026.
That substantial personal ownership means Son combines the roles of founder, executive and major shareholder.
Hayes’ authority at UTC and RTX came from corporate executive positions rather than founder ownership. His background in accounting and finance eventually placed him in responsibility for major transactions, portfolio restructuring and operational leadership.
This distinction helps explain their different styles of strategic decision-making. Son has repeatedly committed SoftBank capital to technology platforms he believes could define future computing markets. Hayes’ record is more closely associated with restructuring mature businesses, acquisitions, divestitures and combining major industrial companies.
The Financial Difference Between Son and Hayes
The available financial information about the two men is not directly comparable.
Forbes’ real-time profile estimated Masayoshi Son’s net worth at approximately $74.3 billion as of September 15, 2026. The number can change sharply with SoftBank’s share price and the changing value of its investments, so it should be treated as a market-based estimate rather than a fixed amount.
Son’s wealth has been particularly volatile in 2026. Forbes valued him at $80 billion for its 2026 Japan rich list, based on prices and exchange rates on May 22, while his real-time fortune briefly moved far higher during subsequent fluctuations in SoftBank shares.
There is no similarly authoritative public estimate of Greg Hayes’ personal net worth.
What is publicly documented is his executive compensation. RTX’s 2025 proxy reported total 2024 compensation of approximately $14.6 million for Hayes under SEC compensation-reporting rules. His direct compensation calculation for that year included a $1.1 million year-end base salary level and a $2.32 million annual incentive, while accounting values for previously granted equity awards contributed substantially to the reported total compensation figure.
RTX also disclosed that Hayes would receive a $1.1 million base salary while serving as Special Advisor during 2025 but would not receive a 2025 annual incentive or a new long-term incentive award.
Executive compensation, however, is not the same as personal net worth. Claims assigning Hayes a specific multimillion-dollar fortune without documented financial evidence should therefore be treated cautiously.
Why the Comparison Is Interesting
Son and Hayes show how two executives can reach enormous corporate influence through very different routes.
Son built a company and accumulated a substantial ownership position while repeatedly moving SoftBank toward emerging technology markets. His current strategy is heavily concentrated on artificial intelligence, Arm, OpenAI, computing infrastructure and robotics.
Hayes developed as an internal financial executive before becoming CEO. His defining period involved reorganizing United Technologies, separating major businesses and combining its aerospace operations with Raytheon to create the company now known as RTX.
One career is primarily associated with technology investment and founder control. The other is primarily associated with industrial management, aerospace and corporate restructuring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes related?
No publicly verified evidence shows that Masayoshi Son and Gregory J. Hayes are related. They come from different backgrounds and have pursued separate corporate careers.
Did Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes work together?
There is no authoritative public record establishing a direct business partnership or shared executive role between them. Son is associated primarily with SoftBank and its technology investments, while Hayes spent much of his career with United Technologies and RTX.
Is Greg Hayes still the CEO of RTX?
No. Christopher Calio succeeded Hayes as CEO on May 2, 2024. Hayes subsequently served as Executive Chairman until April 30, 2025 and then as Special Advisor through January 2, 2026.
What does Greg Hayes do in 2026?
Hayes serves as Lead Independent Director of Phillips 66, a position he assumed on May 13, 2026. He also serves on the board of BD and chairs NAF.
What is Masayoshi Son doing in 2026?
Son remains Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group and Chairman and Director of Arm. His strategy is heavily focused on AI models, semiconductors, AI infrastructure and robotics, with OpenAI and Arm occupying central positions in SoftBank’s plans.
Who is richer, Masayoshi Son or Greg Hayes?
Available evidence shows a major difference in publicly documented wealth. Forbes estimated Son’s fortune at about $74.3 billion on September 15, 2026, while no reliable source provides a verified personal net-worth figure for Hayes. Reported estimates for Hayes should not be confused with his publicly disclosed RTX executive compensation.
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