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Why bother with the middle man? If Softbank is so confident that its vision fund is going to make much bigger than 5% returns, it should be putting the money directly into there.

This is a perk for employees. Stock options/RSUs on steroids. It’s nothing more complicated than that.

It’s unusual to do it this way in tech but in big accounting and law firms giving favourable loans for people to “buy into” the partnership is business as usual.

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Yes, this is more convincing, but is still a little concerning. Given current interest rates, presumably these people 'gifted' the 5% loans could have already borrowed money at lower cost, they just wouldn't have had any access to throw the money into the vision fund.

Perhaps the borrowers can take the cash, invest it, then borrow elsewhere at lower rates to pay back the more expensive loan? In all, it still seems a vastly complicated scheme for the attested goals. I guess that there are tax reasons behind it all.

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