It amazes me that they didn't call his bluff. They could have said, "We'll let you keep some of your shares, so if this ever works out, you'll make some good money." Because if somebody didn't put up a lot of money, Neumann would get bupkis. His negotiating position was extraordinarily weak.

But clearly this is about preserving Masayoshi Son's ego. And reputation, of course. Why would he care if he burns another 5 billion if it helps him keep getting future $100bn investments from his LPs?