Soichiro Fukutake

Soichiro Fukutake (b. about 1945) is the president of Benesse Corporation, a Japanese company best known for its distance learning and test preparation 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. [ [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/VNPC.html Soichiro Fukutake, The World's Richest People - Forbes.com ] ]

Fukutake's father founded Benesse, a corporation whose schools (commonly referred to as nihongo|"juku"|塾 or "cram schools") train children to pass entrance exams to allow admission to 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 director of the Chichu Art Museum on the southern island of Naoshima in the Inland Sea region of Japan.

References