Japanese Billionaire Gives Away $9 Million in 'Social Experiment'
2020-01-13
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1A Japanese businessman is giving away $9 million to his followers on social media in what he is calling a "social experiment."
2He hopes to see whether the money increases people's overall happiness.
3Yusaku Maezawa will give $9,000 to 1,000 followers chosen at random from people who retweeted his January 1 message on Twitter.
4The money's effect on the winners will be studied over time through questionnaires.
5"It's a serious social experiment," said the businessman on YouTube, adding that he hopes it will interest both researchers and economists.
6Yusaku Maezawa rose to fame in the Japanese fashion industry at an early age.
7He became rich thanks to Zozotown, a website that specializes in clothing sales.
8Maezawa is known for his high spending on art and sports cars but also his love for sharing ideas, like a world without money.
9In addition, he was chosen to be the first private passenger to fly around the moon with Elon Musk's SpaceX.
10With his giveaway, Maezawa hopes to spread the idea of basic income, or the theory of giving periodic payments to all citizens.
11The idea has gained attention in some political circles, even in the United States.
12A leading supporter is businessman Andrew Yang, a candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
13"Basic means a regular minimum amount offering a sense of security.
14What Maezawa is offering is totally different," said Toshihiro Nagahama.
15He is an economist with the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
16Maezawa said that since he "has the money and free time" to make the payments, he is trying to fuel a debate in Japan over the value of a basic income.
17The idea of a universal basic income has gained support because of fears that technology will replace large numbers of jobs.
18But for now, that concern is not as big an issue in Japan with its low unemployment rate, said Nagahama.
19This is the second, larger, giveaway by Maezawa.
20In November, he got $900 million from the sale of his online fashion business.
21Maezawa now has seven million Twitter followers.
22His tweets are an interesting mix of subjects, including his pricy purchases and thoughts on the meaning of life.
23He also recently made news headlines after his split from actress girlfriend Ayame Goriki.
24These days, he can also be found on YouTube, sharing things like a look into his private plane and a visit to the barber shop to get his hair colored.
25He even shared a video of him working on his finances after the November sale of his company.
26The debate over basic income comes as income inequality continues to grow in the United States.
27In recent years, some very wealthy Americans have promised to give away most of their wealth.
28They include Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett.
29I'm Alice Bryant.
1A Japanese businessman is giving away $9 million to his followers on social media in what he is calling a "social experiment." He hopes to see whether the money increases people's overall happiness. 2Yusaku Maezawa will give $9,000 to 1,000 followers chosen at random from people who retweeted his January 1 message on Twitter. The money's effect on the winners will be studied over time through questionnaires. 3"It's a serious social experiment," said the businessman on YouTube, adding that he hopes it will interest both researchers and economists. 4Yusaku Maezawa rose to fame in the Japanese fashion industry at an early age. He became rich thanks to Zozotown, a website that specializes in clothing sales. 5Maezawa is known for his high spending on art and sports cars but also his love for sharing ideas, like a world without money. In addition, he was chosen to be the first private passenger to fly around the moon with Elon Musk's SpaceX. 6With his giveaway, Maezawa hopes to spread the idea of basic income, or the theory of giving periodic payments to all citizens. The idea has gained attention in some political circles, even in the United States. A leading supporter is businessman Andrew Yang, a candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. 7"Basic means a regular minimum amount offering a sense of security. What Maezawa is offering is totally different," said Toshihiro Nagahama. He is an economist with the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. 8Maezawa said that since he "has the money and free time" to make the payments, he is trying to fuel a debate in Japan over the value of a basic income. 9The idea of a universal basic income has gained support because of fears that technology will replace large numbers of jobs. But for now, that concern is not as big an issue in Japan with its low unemployment rate, said Nagahama. 10This is the second, larger, giveaway by Maezawa. In November, he got $900 million from the sale of his online fashion business. 11Maezawa now has seven million Twitter followers. His tweets are an interesting mix of subjects, including his pricy purchases and thoughts on the meaning of life. He also recently made news headlines after his split from actress girlfriend Ayame Goriki. 12These days, he can also be found on YouTube, sharing things like a look into his private plane and a visit to the barber shop to get his hair colored. He even shared a video of him working on his finances after the November sale of his company. 13The debate over basic income comes as income inequality continues to grow in the United States. In recent years, some very wealthy Americans have promised to give away most of their wealth. They include Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett. 14I'm Alice Bryant. 15Sam Nussey wrote this story for Reuters News Agency. Alice Bryant adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 16______________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18overall - adj. general or universal 19retweet - v. to forward or report a message on Twitter 20post - n. a piece of writing, picture or something else published online 21random - adj. chosen or done without a particular plan 22income - n. money earned from work, business or investments 23regular - adj. structured, normal or systematic 24minimum - n. the lowest number or amount that is possible or permitted 25barber - n. a person whose job is to cut men's hair