Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes are prominent business leaders, but there is no authoritative public evidence that they are relatives, business partners, co-founders, or colleagues. Their careers have developed in very different corporate worlds: Son built SoftBank around technology investment and artificial intelligence, while Hayes spent decades reshaping United Technologies and later leading the aerospace and defense company now known as RTX.
The two men can reasonably be compared because both have managed enormous companies, overseen major acquisitions and restructurings, and made strategic decisions involving advanced technology. That comparison, however, should not be mistaken for a documented personal or professional relationship.
Who Is Masayoshi Son?
Masayoshi Son is the founder, representative director, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., the Japanese technology investment holding company he founded in 1981. His career has included major investments and acquisitions involving telecommunications, Alibaba, Arm Holdings, technology startups and, increasingly, artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Son also serves as chairman and director of Arm Holdings, the semiconductor architecture company that SoftBank acquired in 2016. SoftBank’s official biography credits him with directing the group’s expansion through internet businesses, telecommunications, the Alibaba investment, Arm and the creation of the SoftBank Vision Fund.
His position inside SoftBank is unusually influential. As of March 31, 2026, Son held approximately 1.866 billion SoftBank Group shares, representing 32.73% of the company’s disclosed shareholding base, making him its largest listed individual shareholder.
Masayoshi Son’s Current Focus on AI
By 2026, Son’s strategy had moved heavily toward artificial intelligence, semiconductor technology and the infrastructure required to operate increasingly powerful AI systems.
SoftBank’s 2026 annual report describes Arm and OpenAI as central components of its artificial superintelligence, or ASI, strategy. Son has also become closely associated with the Stargate AI infrastructure project.
Stargate was announced in January 2025 as a project intended to invest as much as $500 billion over four years in AI infrastructure in the United States. SoftBank and OpenAI were named as its lead partners, with SoftBank responsible for financial matters and OpenAI responsible for operations. Son was designated chairman of the project.
SoftBank continued expanding that strategy during 2026 through investments in OpenAI and large-scale AI infrastructure projects in the United States and Europe. The company disclosed that it had invested a cumulative $34.6 billion in OpenAI as of March 31, 2026, before deciding on another $30 billion follow-on investment.
Who Is Greg Hayes?
Gregory J. Hayes, commonly known as Greg Hayes, is an American corporate executive best known for leading United Technologies Corporation and RTX Corporation.
Hayes spent nearly 21 years at United Technologies, holding senior positions involving finance, corporate strategy and business development. He became UTC’s CEO in 2014 and chairman in 2016. Before becoming chief executive, he also served as the company’s chief financial officer.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Purdue University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
How Hayes Reshaped United Technologies
Hayes became closely associated with one of the largest transformations in modern aerospace corporate history.
Under his leadership, United Technologies:
- Divested Sikorsky Aircraft in 2015.
- Acquired Rockwell Collins in 2018.
- Separated Carrier Corporation and Otis Elevator in 2020.
- Combined its remaining aerospace businesses with Raytheon Company in 2020.
The Raytheon transaction brought together businesses including Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace with Raytheon’s defense operations, creating Raytheon Technologies, subsequently renamed RTX Corporation.
Hayes became CEO of the combined company following the 2020 merger.
What Happened to Greg Hayes at RTX?
Hayes is no longer RTX’s chairman or CEO.
Christopher Calio succeeded him as RTX president and CEO on May 2, 2024, while Hayes moved into the role of executive chairman.
Hayes then stepped down as executive chairman and left the RTX board on April 30, 2025. RTX said he would remain as a special adviser to CEO Christopher Calio through January 2, 2026. Calio subsequently became chairman as well as president and CEO.
By September 2026, Hayes’ main publicly disclosed corporate roles included serving as lead independent director of Phillips 66 and as a director of Becton, Dickinson and Company, or BD. Phillips 66 appointed him lead independent director in May 2026.
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Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes: What Is Their Connection?
There is no established direct connection between Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes in the authoritative corporate records reviewed for this article.
No reliable evidence was found showing that:
- Son and Hayes are relatives.
- Hayes has been an executive or director of SoftBank Group.
- Son has been an executive or director of RTX or United Technologies.
- They jointly founded or managed a company.
- Hayes has served on SoftBank’s board.
- They have announced a major joint investment or partnership together.
SoftBank Group’s current board listing does not include Hayes, while RTX’s leadership transition records establish that Hayes left the RTX board in April 2025.
It is therefore more accurate to describe masayoshi son and greg hayes as two independently prominent corporate leaders rather than as people with a verified shared business relationship.
How Their Careers Compare
| Area | Masayoshi Son | Greg Hayes |
|---|---|---|
| Best known for | Founding and leading SoftBank Group | Leading UTC and RTX |
| Main industry background | Technology, telecom, investment, AI | Aerospace, defense, industrial businesses |
| Leadership model | Founder, investor and controlling strategic figure | Professional corporate executive |
| Major corporate association | SoftBank Group, Arm | United Technologies, RTX |
| Major transactions | Alibaba investment, Arm acquisition, Vision Fund, OpenAI investments | Sikorsky divestiture, Rockwell Collins acquisition, Otis and Carrier separations, Raytheon merger |
| 2026 role | Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group; chairman and director of Arm | Lead independent director at Phillips 66; BD director |
| Documented relationship with each other | No direct relationship established | No direct relationship established |
Son’s approach is heavily centered on capital allocation and identifying technology platforms that he believes can become globally dominant. Hayes’ career was more focused on operating, restructuring and consolidating large industrial and aerospace businesses.
Their Approaches to Major Corporate Deals
Son Uses Investment and Ownership as Strategic Tools
Son has repeatedly used equity investments and acquisitions to place SoftBank inside industries he expects to expand dramatically.
Alibaba became one of SoftBank’s most famous investments. The acquisition of Arm placed the group directly inside the semiconductor ecosystem. The Vision Funds extended SoftBank’s exposure to technology companies around the world, while its more recent OpenAI commitments and Stargate involvement have shifted its attention toward AI models, compute infrastructure and data centers.
SoftBank’s 2026 strategy illustrates the scale of this transition. The company is pursuing AI data-center projects while treating infrastructure capable of running advanced AI models as an important strategic sector.
Hayes Used M&A and Restructuring to Refocus an Industrial Giant
Hayes’ strategy at United Technologies followed a different model.
Rather than building a broad portfolio of technology investments, he progressively reshaped UTC around aerospace. Sikorsky was sold, Rockwell Collins was acquired, Otis and Carrier became independent companies, and UTC’s remaining aerospace operations were combined with Raytheon.
The result was a company concentrated around three major aerospace and defense businesses: Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon.
Their records therefore show two different methods of corporate transformation. Son typically operates as a founder and large shareholder allocating capital toward emerging technologies, while Hayes developed his career as an executive reorganizing mature industrial companies.
Are SoftBank and RTX Connected?
SoftBank Group and RTX operate in technology-intensive sectors, but that does not establish a corporate relationship between Son and Hayes.
SoftBank’s current strategy is concentrated on areas such as AI, semiconductors, telecommunications and digital infrastructure. RTX focuses on commercial aviation, aircraft propulsion, aerospace systems and defense technology through Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon.
Their industries can intersect indirectly through semiconductors, computing, communications, manufacturing and advanced technology supply chains. However, such industry overlap should not be presented as evidence that Son and Hayes personally collaborated.
No authoritative source reviewed for this article documents a major partnership specifically connecting the two men.
What Is Known About Their Finances?
Financial comparisons between executives need care because corporate ownership records are considerably more reliable than internet estimates of personal wealth.
For Son, SoftBank provides a clear ownership figure. He held 1,865,511,164 SoftBank Group shares as of June 1, 2026, while SoftBank’s shareholder data put his holding ratio at 32.73% as of March 31, 2026. The market value of that holding changes with SoftBank’s share price.
Hayes does not have a similarly large founder-level ownership position in RTX. Public filings disclose his executive compensation while he worked there, but they do not provide a reliable calculation of his total personal net worth.
RTX’s 2025 proxy reported that Hayes’ base salary was reduced to $1.1 million when he became executive chairman in May 2024 and that his 2024 annual incentive award was $2.32 million. Those compensation figures should not be confused with his net worth.
Why Are Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes Sometimes Searched Together?
The exact reason people search the two names together is not established by corporate records.
Both men have been highly visible executives associated with enormous multinational companies, technology-heavy industries and multibillion-dollar corporate transactions. That makes comparisons between their careers understandable.
What the documented record does not support is turning that similarity into a claim that they have a family relationship or established business partnership.
FAQ
Are Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes related?
There is no credible public evidence that Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes are related. Their official biographies document separate backgrounds and professional careers in Japan’s technology investment sector and the U.S. aerospace industry.
Have Masayoshi Son and Greg Hayes worked together?
No authoritative corporate source reviewed for this article establishes that they have worked together directly. Hayes’ career has centered on UTC, RTX and corporate board roles, while Son has spent his career leading SoftBank and related technology investments.
Did Greg Hayes work for SoftBank?
There is no verified record that Greg Hayes served as a SoftBank executive or director. SoftBank Group’s current board and officer listings do not include him.
Did Masayoshi Son work for RTX?
No authoritative RTX or SoftBank record identifies Son as an executive or director of RTX. His principal roles remain with SoftBank Group, SoftBank Corp. and Arm.
What does Greg Hayes do now?
As of September 2026, Hayes is lead independent director of Phillips 66 and also serves as a director of Becton, Dickinson and Company. His formal advisory period with RTX was scheduled to end on January 2, 2026.
What is Masayoshi Son doing in 2026?
Son remains chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group and chairman and director of Arm. His strategic focus is heavily oriented toward artificial intelligence, OpenAI, semiconductor technology and large-scale AI infrastructure.
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