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Okada’s $50 Million Debt Servicing Plan

Japan’s so-called “Pachinko king,” staring down tens of millions of dollars in legal obligations, is bringing one of the greatest collections of Asian art to auction.

Kazuo Okada
The Okada collection of Asian art, which is coming up for sale at Sotheby’s Hong Kong later this month, offers global collectors a unique opportunity to acquire treasures spanning 3,000 years of East Asian artistry. Photo: Jerome Favre/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Julie Brener Davich
November 9, 2025

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Sometimes, even the very rich are left with no other choice but to sell their art. That’s what happened to Kazuo Okada, known in Japan as the “Pachinko king.” He built his fortune as chairman of Universal Entertainment Corporation by making and selling gambling machines. But after partnering with Steve Wynn in the early 2000s to build casino resorts, the relationship fell apart. In 2018, Wynn Resorts agreed to pay a $2.6 billion settlement to Okada’s Universal Entertainment—and lawyers for Okada, who was ousted as chairman of Universal in 2017 after being accused of misappropriating funds, invoiced Okada $50 million for their agreed-upon contingent fee. (The fraud charges, which he denied, were later dropped.) He refused to pay. Now, following years of arbitration and appeals, the contents of Okada’s private museum are being sold to at least partly pay off that debt, which has climbed to $54.6 million.