An interview with former SoftBank COO Marcelo Claure on his investment firm Claure Group, his current relationship with Masayoshi Son, helming WeWork, and more
Bloomberg Línea — For many, Bolivia-born Marcelo Claure (51), former SoftBank COO, was a kind of King Midas …
Context & Ripple Effects
This interview lands four months after the messy end of Claure's nine-year run at SoftBank, when reports of a $2B compensation demand and clashes with Masayoshi Son preceded the company confirming his exit and handing SoftBank Group International to Michel Combes (SoftBank confirmed Claure's departure).
It is also Claure's first extended public accounting of the roles that defined him inside SoftBank — including taking over WeWork alongside Son and Ron Fisher in 2019 (the WeWork takeover team), a stint whose record was already being questioned at the time — and of what he is building independently with Claure Group.
First-order effects
- Claure now controls his own narrative post-SoftBank, using the Bloomberg Línea platform to frame his split with Son and position Claure Group rather than leaving the story to the January leak-driven coverage.
Second-order effects
- SoftBank, already managing a strained bench — reporting had earlier surfaced friction between Son and Vision Fund chief Rajeev Misra (the Son-Misra strains) — faces continued scrutiny of how it retains senior operators while its former COO builds a competing investment vehicle.
Third-order effects
- If Claure's path holds — top lieutenant exits, takes dealmaking independent — SoftBank's model of concentrating power around Son risks hollowing out into a founder-dependent structure that must rebuild institutional depth through hires like Combes.
The trend: SoftBank's inner circle is dispersing, with former deputies like Claure converting their track records into independent investment firms while the group leans on new leadership such as Michel Combes.