Yusaku Maezawa breaks Twitter records: This Zozotown billionaire's post is most retweeted message EVER

SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk, left, shakes hands with Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, right, after announcing him as the first private passenger on a trip around the moon. (Picture: AP)

A Japanese billionaire has posted the most retweeted message on Twitter in the platform’s 13-year history.

Celebrating bumper sales for his online fashion retailer, Yusaku Maezawa dangled a cash gift of one million yen (£7,250) to 100 people in the Tweet posted on Saturday.

It has since been shared more than four million times.

That is half a million more than the previous record claimed by a US teenager requesting help to secure himself a year of free chicken nuggets from fast food chain Wendy’s.

ZOZOTOWN新春セールが史上最速で取扱高100億円を先ほど突破！！日頃の感謝を込め、僕個人から100名様に100万円【総額1億円のお年玉】を現金でプレゼントします。応募方法は、僕をフォローいただいた上、このツイートをRTするだけ。受付は1/7まで。当選者には僕から直接DMします！ #月に行くならお年玉 pic.twitter.com/cKQfPPbOI3

— Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) 前澤友作 (@yousuck2020)

January 5, 2019

The number of people following Mr Maezawa’s account surged from around 500,000 at the end of last week to more than 4.5 million by lunchtime today.

HELP ME PLEASE. A MAN NEEDS HIS NUGGS pic.twitter.com/4SrfHmEMo3

— Carter Wilkerson (@carterjwm)

April 6, 2017

He is best known internationally as being first private passenger due to be flown around the Moon by Space X, the company owned by billionaire Elon Musk.