In an unexpected and strange online social experiment, one Japanese billionaire has announced that he will be giving away more than $9 million to 1,000 lucky Twitter users. The experiment is reportedly meant to assess the happiness levels of people who receive a substantial amount of money.
Yusaku Maezawa, a billionaire who made his fortune in the online fashion retail industry, announced that he will be giving away 1 billion yen, or roughly $9 million, to people who simply retweet him. The lucky 1,000 people that retweet Maezawa's post will each receive a million yen, or roughly $9,100.
The billionaire, who founded Japan's largest online retail website Zozotown, announced the strange experiment on YouTube. It was mentioned in the announcement video that the contest is a "serious social trial," which aims to see the impact of a million yen on the lives of ordinary Japanese people.
Maezawa explained in the contest announcement video that he wanted the winners to use the money in any way they like. All of the winners will then be required to answer regular questionnaires while they spend the money.
The contest was made open to everyone who had a twitter account. Interested participants simply have to join Twitter and retweet Maezawa's announcement post published on Tuesday. According to reports, more than 4 million people had already retweeted Maezawa's post over the past two days.
To determine the 1,000 lucky winners, Maezawa will be holding a lottery to choose from the millions of retweets. The 44-year old entrepreneur stated that he would be contacting the winners personally by messaging them directly within two to three days after the contest ends.
Maezawa added that he will be meeting with each of the lucky winners after they spend their money to ask about the impact it had on their lives. He also asked social scientists interested in the experiment to help him analyze the results.
This is actually not the first time that Maezawa has shared a part of his fortune to online users. In January last year, the billionaire gave 100 million yen, or roughly $914,000, to 100 Twitter users. The stunt managed to break new records as his post during that time was retweeted more than 4.68 million times.
According to Forbes, Maezawa is currently worth an estimated $2 billion. The billionaire has made quite a name for himself in the global stage thanks to his eclectic nature and wild ambitions. In 2018, Maezawa announced that he intends to be the first commercial space tourist by pre-ordering a ticket onboard a SpaceX Starship that will do a flyby around the moon. In 2017, Maezawa paid a staggering $111 million for a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting, the highest amount ever paid for a painting made by an American artist.
