Soichiro Fukutake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Soichiro Fukutake (b. about 1945) is the president of Benesse Corporation, a Japanese company best known for its distance learning and test prep schools. In 2006, Fukutake--who has a net worth of over 1.2 billion US dollars--was ranked among the top ten richest people in Japan by Forbes magazine in 2006.[1]
Fukutake's father founded Benesse, whose schools train children to pass entrance exams in order to get into prestigious schools and universities. Some four million Japanese children between the age of 3 and 18 are enrolled at Benesse schools. Despite the graying trend in the Japanese population, Benesse sales hit a record high of $2.5 billion and net profits jumped 52% to $124 million for the fiscal year ending March 2005.
Fukutake received his Bachelor of Arts degree at Waseda University. He maintains residences in Okayama, Japan, and elsewhere in Asia and Australia. A modern art lover, Fukutake is also the head of a contemporary art museum on a southern island facing the inland Sea of Japan.
