Uniqlo Founder and Japan’s Richest Man Loves a $32 Pair of Slacks

Tadashi Yanai is standing on a bustling Tokyo street corner, watching shoppers drift into one of the 3,570 stores that made him a billionaire. The visitors to this three-floor Uniqlo are a blend of salarymen on lunch break, overseas tourists, families with strollers and well-heeled locals. “This is a good mix,” Yanai says, sizing up the crowd. “Just about right.”

The chief executive of Uniqlo’s parent company, Fast Retailing Co., the clothing empire built on thermal wear, seamless basics and multicolored socks, knows a thing or two about what his customers want. After all, he is one. On this sunny autumn afternoon, everything he’s wearing, from his navy cashmere sweater to his brown cotton trousers, was made and sold by the apparel brand he founded in 1984—except for the black Adidas sneakers on his feet.