Softbank president Son Jung-ui, or Masayoshi Son, announced on Sunday he will donate 10 billion yen and his remaining salary as a president of the company until his retirement from 2011 to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan on March 11.

Son’s salary in 2009 was 180 million yen. Besides his personal donation, Softbank donated 1 billion yen, and its affiliate Yahoo Japan is to add 300 million yen. Son’s donation is the greatest ever by an individual, surpassing the previous high of 1 billion yen set by Uniqlo chairman Tadashi Yanai.

“I hope to be able to help the victims of the disaster, including youngsters who are orphaned by the earthquake and tsunami,” Son said. The money will be given to a number of charities including Japanese Red Cross. Son has already provided 20,000 mobile phones for volunteers helping rebuild the devastated area and postponed payment for customers in the stricken areas.

In addition, he decided to offer free mobile phone services on Softbank for those who are orphaned by the disaster until they reach the age of 18. Softbank is also raising funds in its stores nationwide. On March 22, Son visited disaster prevention headquarters in Fukushima, near the site of the nuclear power plant explosion.

Son is a third-generation ethnic Korean whose grandfather moved to Japan to work as a miner. He established computer distributor Softbank at the age of 24, and was one of the key figures in building Japan into one of the most wired countries in the world. According to the Forbes, Son is the 113th richest man in the world and the richest in Japan with assets of US$8.1 billion.