JAKARTA (October 15, 2025) – Forbes Media is pleased to announce that Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President and CEO, Fast Retailing, is the recipient of the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award is presented to honor an individual’s lifetime of entrepreneurial achievement. It is a celebration of global business success bestowed upon a business leader who embodies and exemplifies the ideals of free enterprise championed by Malcolm S. Forbes in his lifetime and within the pages of Forbes magazine since its founding in 1917.
Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Forbes Media said: “Over his remarkable career, Tadashi Yanai reshaped global apparel and redefined how clothing companies operate. From a single menswear shop in Japan, he built Fast Retailing, parent of clothing brand Uniqlo, into one of the world’s leading apparel retailers, known for its simplicity, quality, and affordability. He embraced globalization early, taking Uniqlo into Greater China, Europe, and the United States, building it into a chain of 2,500 stores in 25 countries. His focus on technology, from heat-retaining fabrics to seamless production, set new standards. His emphasis on corporate culture was ahead of its time.”
Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President and CEO, Fast Retailing said: “I am deeply honored and grateful to receive the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award this year. I have always regarded Forbes, and the level of its accomplishments led by the late Malcolm S. Forbes, with great respect. Today I wish to accept the award also on behalf of our employees, partners, and collaborators who have helped me to grow our business over the past 40 years.”
Tadashi Yanai received the award from Steve Forbes at the 23rd Forbes Global CEO Conference, held in Jakarta on October 15. The award presentation was followed by a one-on-one dialogue between Tadashi Yanai and Steve Forbes.
Past recipients of the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award include Li Ka-shing, Chairman, Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Hutchison Whampoa (2006), S. Robson Walton, Chairman of the Board of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (2009), Carlos Slim Helú, Chairman, Fundación Telmex, Fundación Carlos Slim, Impulsora del Desarrollo del Empleo en América Latina and Cicsa (2010), Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba Group (2019), Dhanin Chearavanont, Senior Chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group (2023), and Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH Group (2024) among others.
For more information on the conference, please visit: www.forbesglobalceoconference.com
On social media, please follow @ForbesAsia and #ForbesGlobalCEO
About Forbes
Forbes is an iconic global media brand that has symbolized success for over a century. Fueled by journalism that informs and inspires, Forbes spotlights the doers and doings shaping industries, achieving success and making an impact on the world. Forbes connects and convenes the most influential communities ranging from billionaires, business leaders and rising entrepreneurs to creators and innovators. The Forbes brand reaches more than 140 million people monthly worldwide through its trusted journalism, signature ForbesLive events and 49 licensed local editions in 81 countries.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Edelman on behalf of Forbes Media:
Ferra Handayani, +62 8159994784, Ferra.Handayani@edelman.com, FGCEO2025@edelman.com