Ellison's home is actually more like a village, an intricate complex of wooden houses modeled after the Japanese emperor's palace. The 23-acre estate, which took nearly a decade to design and build, includes a lake and a switch-controlled waterfall. All the buildings are built without nails and have walls coated with mud designed to withstand earthquakes measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale. Ellison's tribute to Japanese culture and history is worth a total of about $70 million.

The discussion at the dinner table that day was about the crazy internet valuations in the stock market. But Son and Jobs were more interested in what would happen after the dot-com bubble. "I said I was focused on the Internet and he agreed that the Internet was the future," Massa said. Both men recognized that a paradigm shift was coming. The Nasdaq is one thing, and another is another. The emergence of the online world, in which Apple plays the leading role as an innovator and SoftBank plays the role of investor and operator, is another matter entirely.

At the time, Apple was one of the most valuable companies in the world, with a range of popular products ranging from Mac laptops to the iPod. Like Son, Jobs was paranoid about competitors stealing his ideas. Apple's top secret is the iPhone, the touchscreen smartphone that sold billions of dollars and revolutionized personal communications.

According to Masa, during a visit to California sometime in the summer of 2005, he showed Jobs his sketch of a mobile iPod that would have a large display and run on Apple's operating system. He predicts that new devices will be able to process data and images. Jobs scoffed at the idea, but couldn't help but hint at the iPhone.

Jobs: "Masa, don't give me your crappy painting. I have my own."

Masa: "Well, I don't need to give you my dirty paper, but once you have your product, give it to me and give it to Japan."

Jobs declined to give more details, but Massa noticed a smile twinkling on the Apple boss's face. After further pressuring him, Son arranged a follow-up meeting at Jobs' Tudor country house in Palo Alto. Son claimed that at that meeting, Jobs agreed in principle to give SoftBank exclusive rights to distribute iPhones in Japan. "Well, Martha, you're crazy," Jobs said. "We haven't talked to anyone, but you come to me first. I'll give it to you."

Nothing was written down. There was no discussion of price or quantity. This is just a gentleman's agreement, based on the assumption that Son has the financial resources to build or acquire a mobile phone business. "It's super secret. I had never seen the product before it arrived in Japan (in 2008)," Masa claimed. "Steve never even told me the name."

This story has a mythical quality. Suppose Jobs had kept his promise three years before Apple launched the iPhone in Japan. Yet it is this promise that is likely to give Son the confidence to buy Vodafone Japan, the British company's "also-ran" that uses football icon David Beckham in its marketing campaigns. It was a highly leveraged deal - Asia's largest to date - but Son was betting he was developing a game-changing product. Regardless of the precise chronology, Son completed the distribution deal of the century, which allowed him to build a profitable consumer business in Japan and greatly enhanced SoftBank's brand.

On March 17, 2006, Masayoshi Son acquired Vodafone Japan for US$17 billion. Two weeks later, Jobs flew to Tokyo, where Son challenged the Apple boss to stick to the deal. "You didn't give me any written information, but I made a $17 billion bet based on your word," he said. "You'd better feel a little responsible." Jobs laughed and said, "Massa, you're a lunatic. We're going to do what we talked about."