Nobutada Saji Net Worth

Nobutada Saji has an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Nobutada Saji profile (figures as of October 20, 2026).

Nobutada Saji is a Japanese businessman and the chairman of Suntory Holdings, the drinks group behind Japanese whisky, soft drinks and, since 2014, Jim Beam bourbon. He was born on November 25, 1945, in what is now Kawanishi, in Hyōgo. He is the son of Keizo Saji, the second son of Suntory founder Shinjirō Torii.

Saji studied at Keio University and the UCLA Anderson School of Management. After graduating from UCLA in 1971, he worked at Sony on his father's advice to gain outside experience. He joined the family business in 1974 and helped bring Suntory's whisky highballs to younger drinkers.

He also gives his time to culture and charity. He chairs the Suntory Foundation, which funds scholarships, research grants and awards, and he is an advisory director for Carnegie Hall. He received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, in 2016.

How Nobutada Saji made his money

In 1979 Saji was sent to America to oversee Suntory's international division, where he promoted the melon liqueur Midori and bought Pepcom, an East Coast Pepsi bottler. Back in Japan from 1981, he pushed the company into soft drinks such as bottled teas and Boss Coffee. In 2001 he succeeded his cousin Shinichiro Torii as Suntory's fourth president.

As president he led the purchase of Beam, maker of Jim Beam and Maker's Mark, for $16 billion in 2014. That same year he stepped down as president, handing the job to a non-family member for the first time since the business was founded in 1899. His nephew Nobuhiro Torii now runs the company. Saji owns a minority stake in closely held Suntory Holdings, which is the source of his fortune.

How Forbes has valued Nobutada Saji

Forbes values only Saji's own minority stake, which keeps his figure fairly modest for the head of such a large group. He was valued at $1.4 billion in 2019 and $1.1 billion in 2020, then $1.3 billion in 2021 and $1.2 billion in 2022.

He held at $1.3 billion in 2023 and 2024 and has been at $1.4 billion since 2025, including the 2026 World's Billionaires List. As of October 20, 2026, the Forbes real-time billionaires tracker also showed $1.4 billion. The stable numbers fit a private family company whose value changes slowly.