Yusaku Maezawa

Japanese billionaire revolutionizing space tourism through private lunar missions

Yusaku Maezawa (born 1975), founder of ZOZOTOWN (Japan's largest online fashion retailer), disrupted both e-commerce and aerospace. In 2018, he became the first private passenger booked on SpaceX's Starship lunar voyage via his #dearMoon project, pledging to take 8 artists to inspire global creativity.

His $10 million COVID-19 donation and viral social experiments (e.g., giving random Twitter users $9,000) redefined billionaire philanthropy. Maezawa's lunar mission aims to democratize space access, contrasting traditional government-led programs. He also founded start today to mentor young entrepreneurs.

Critics debate his eccentricity, but Maezawa’s fusion of art, commerce, and space exploration marks a paradigm shift. As he stated: If Basquiat had seen the moon up close, his art would’ve been even more amazing.