Shigenobu Nagamori Net Worth

Shigenobu Nagamori has an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Shigenobu Nagamori profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is down from a peak of $8.7 billion.

Shigenobu Nagamori is a Japanese businessman who founded Nidec, a major maker of electric motors. Born in 1944 and raised in a farming family in Kyoto, he studied electrical engineering at the Polytechnic University near Tokyo. He worked for two engineering firms before striking out on his own in 1973 to start Nidec. Forbes counts him as a self-made billionaire.

Nidec grew into a global company that describes itself as the world's largest maker of motors for hard-disk drives and optical drives, measured by units sold. Its small, precise motors became core parts inside computers and electronics. Nagamori has chaired the company for decades and has also served as a non-executive director at SoftBank, the Japanese tech and telecom group.

How Shigenobu Nagamori built his fortune

Nagamori's wealth is tied to his stake in Nidec. He owns about 12% of the company, partly directly and partly through his personal asset firm, SN Kosan. Because Nidec is publicly traded, the value of that stake moves with the share price. The company built its business on tiny motors for data storage and then branched into larger motors for many industries.

He has set big goals for the company. Nagamori has said he wants Nidec to reach ¥10 trillion ($91 billion) in revenue by 2030, in part by focusing on drivetrains for electric vehicles. Leadership has shifted over time. In 2024, Mitsuya Kishida, one of five executive vice presidents, became president and CEO, while Nagamori remained founder and chairman.

How his Forbes estimate has changed

Forbes estimated Nagamori at $4.1 billion in 2019 and $3.6 billion in 2020. His figure then more than doubled to $8.7 billion in 2021, his high point in Forbes' recent lists. After that, the estimate fell year after year, to $5.4 billion in 2022, $3.7 billion in 2023 and $2.9 billion in 2024, as Nidec's stock lost value.

The decline continued. Forbes put him at $2.8 billion in 2025 and $2.5 billion on its 2026 World's Billionaires List. As of October 20, 2026, its real-time billionaires tracker showed $1.8 billion. Outside business, he set up the Nagamori Foundation to support research in technology, launched the Nagamori Awards for motor engineers in 2014, and pledged $90 million in 2017 for an engineering program at Kyoto Gakuen University.