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Yusaku Maezawa Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 17, 2026 • 3 min read

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Quick Info

Date of birth22 November 1975

BirthplaceKamagaya, Chiba Prefecture, Japan

ProfessionEntrepreneur & Art Collector

NationalityJapanese

Marital statusDivorced

Family1 child; parents: father an accountant, mother a homemaker; one brother

Net worth$2.9 Billion (as in 2018)

Yusaku Maezawa Biography

Japanese entrepreneur and art collector Yusaku Maezawa rose from a mail-order music business to found Zozotown and build an international profile as a high

Early life and background

Yusaku Maezawa was born on November 22, 1975, in Kamagaya, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He grew up in Chiba and completed his schooling at Waseda Jitsugyo High School. Maezawa did not continue to university after high school and spent a period living in the United States before returning to Japan.

From a young age he showed a curiosity about how things were built and made. Music played an important role in his youth: he played guitar in middle school, later switched to drums, and formed a band called Switch Style while at high school. The group released an EP in 1993 and attracted enough attention to be signed by a record label.

Career

After returning to Japan in 1995 with a personal collection of imported CDs and records, Maezawa began selling those albums by mail order. That small business became the foundation for Start Today, which he launched in 1998 at age 22. The company name was inspired by an album title.

Start Today expanded from mail-order music into niche fashion. In 2000 the business moved online, and in 2004 it launched Zozotown, an e-commerce site that initially featured products from 17 apparel stores. The company continued to grow, listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Mothers section in 2007. What began with a handful of staff grew into a business that by 2018 employed hundreds and carried thousands of brands and hundreds of thousands of items.

Maezawa also introduced ZOZO, a custom-fit clothing brand, and the ZOZOSUIT, an at-home measurement system. He has kept his company’s headquarters in Chiba Prefecture rather than relocating to central Tokyo, citing a preference for the environment and lifestyle of his hometown.

Alongside his fashion ventures, Maezawa has built a profile as a collector and patron of contemporary art. In 2012 he founded the Contemporary Art Foundation in Tokyo to support young artists. He has spoken of plans to open a museum in Chiba to display his collection of art, furniture and antiques. In 2017 he made headlines with a high-profile purchase at auction, acquiring a work by Jean-Michel Basquiat for $110.5 million.

Public profile

Maezawa is known both for his entrepreneurial work and his passion for art and music. His personal interests include listening to music, playing guitar and drums, traveling, and collecting artifacts. He has received recognition from abroad, including France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

In 2018 he was identified by Forbes with an estimated net worth figure for that year. He is also known for an interest in Buddhist-era sculpture, particularly pieces from Japan’s Heian period.

Space project and #dearMoon

In September 2018 it was announced that Maezawa would be the first private customer booked for a planned flyby around the Moon aboard a SpaceX BFR rocket. The trip was presented as part of an art-focused initiative called #dearMoon, in which Maezawa planned to invite several artists to accompany him on a future mission projected for 2023.

Personal life

Maezawa is Japanese and his zodiac sign is Scorpio. Public records indicate he has been married and is now divorced; he has one child. His parents’ occupations are listed as an accountant (father) and homemaker (mother). He has one brother. Physical details reported include a height of approximately 165 cm (5 ft 5 in), weight near 55 kg (121 lbs), black eyes, and dark brown hair.

Latest updates

By 2018 Maezawa had grown Start Today from a small mail-order operation into a major online fashion business, expanded into custom-fit clothing technology, deepened his involvement in the contemporary art world, and committed to a high-profile private spaceflight project with SpaceX. He has also expressed ongoing plans to establish a museum in Chiba to share his collection with the public.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Yusaku Maezawa, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded

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Recent Work

#dearMoon (SpaceX flyby passenger)

Announced as the first private customer to attempt a flyby around the Moon aboard SpaceX’s BFR, planning to bring several artists as part of an art project.

2018
Basquiat painting (auction purchase)

Acquired a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting at auction for $110.5 million.

2017
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Career Highlights

  1. Founded Start Today in 1998 and launched Zozotown in 2004
  2. Listed Start Today on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Mothers section in 2007
  3. Founded the Contemporary Art Foundation in Tokyo in 2012
  4. Purchased a Basquiat painting for $110.5 million in 2017
  5. Announced as the first private passenger for a SpaceX lunar flyby and creator of the #dearMoon project
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Net Worth

$2.9 Billion (as in 2018)

Figures are editorial estimates based on publicly available reporting and may change as new information emerges.

Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Yusaku Maezawa born?

Yusaku Maezawa was born on 22 November 1975.

What is Yusaku Maezawa known for?

Yusaku Maezawa is known for entrepreneur & Art Collector.

What is Yusaku Maezawa’s marital status?

Yusaku Maezawa's marital status is listed as Divorced.

What is Yusaku Maezawa’s net worth?

Yusaku Maezawa's net worth is commonly listed as $2.9 Billion (as in 2018), based on available public profile information.