Jack Ma
Born 1964 · Age 61
Chinese entrepreneur, co‑founder of Alibaba Group, founder of the Jack Ma Foundation and Yunfeng Capital; major figure in Chinese e‑commerce and philanthropy.
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Life & Career Timeline
Began guiding foreign tourists to practice English
At about age 12 Ma began giving tours in Hangzhou to practise English, riding long distances daily to meet foreign visitors.
Met visiting Australian family (Ken Morley) — pivotal trip later
Met Ken Morley and his family while riding his bike; later hosted in Australia for 29 days — Ma called the visit life-changing.
Failed first gaokao (college entrance exam)
Ma failed the national college entrance exam on his initial attempt (mathematics poor performance noted).
Failed second gaokao attempt
Took the national entrance exam again and failed; math score improved from prior attempt.
Admitted to Hangzhou Normal University (English major)
Succeeded on his third gaokao attempt and was admitted to Hangzhou Normal University's English/foreign language program.
Graduated with BA in English
Earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Hangzhou Normal University and was assigned to teach English and international trade.
Became lecturer at Hangzhou Dianzi University
Started working as an English and international trade lecturer at Hangzhou Dianzi University after graduation.
Founded Haibo (Hangzhou Hope) Translation Agency
Started his first business — an English translation/interpretation agency (often referenced as Haibo or Hangzhou Hope Translation Agency).
Launched early Chinese websites (China Pages) and quickly validated demand
Launched a rudimentary website (including a page about Chinese beer) and within hours received international inquiries, confirming market opportunity.
Opened office for China Pages (first China Pages office)
With partner He Yibing, opened the first office for China Pages, a website-building / online yellow pages service for Chinese companies.
Registered domain chinapages.com
Registered chinapages.com in the United States for the China Pages project.
China Pages business acquired by China Telecommunications Corporation
Ma's early internet venture was acquired by China Telecommunications Corporation; later he found the collaboration unsatisfactory.
Left China Pages and worked for Ministry-backed IT unit
Departed after an unsatisfactory collaboration and developed websites for the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (China International Electronic Commerce Center later role).
Headed Ministry-backed IT company (China Int'l Electronic Commerce Center)
From 1998–1999 Ma led an IT company established by the China International Electronic Commerce Center (a ministry unit).
Co‑founded Alibaba Group
Returned to Hangzhou and co‑founded Alibaba in his apartment with 17–18 friends as a B2B e‑commerce marketplace (started with 500,000 yuan).
First major venture funding for Alibaba (start of $25M seed)
Beginning Oct 1999 (and with further funding in Jan 2000) Alibaba secured foreign seed venture capital from Goldman Sachs and SoftBank — combined reported as $25M.
Launched Taobao Marketplace
Founded Taobao, Alibaba's consumer-to-consumer (C2C) shopping platform to compete with eBay in China; Taobao used free listings to gain rapid market share.
Created Alipay (payments service) / related financial offerings
Alipay (later the core of Ant Group) was created to serve as a trusted third‑party payment platform to address trust and payment issues in online transactions.
CCTV Top 10 Economic Personalities (China)
Honored by China Central Television as one of the Top 10 Economic Personalities of the Year.
Taobao overtakes eBay/EachNet in China
Taobao's aggressive strategy (no transaction fees, focus on ads/services) caused eBay to lose dominance; by mid‑2000s Taobao dominated China's C2C market.
Yahoo! invested in Alibaba (approx. 40% stake)
Yahoo purchased a ~40% stake in Alibaba in 2005 (widely reported as about $1 billion investment), becoming a major strategic investor.
Selected as World Economic Forum Young Global Leader
Named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Alibaba-related IPO in Hong Kong (reported $1.7B)
Alibaba.com completed an IPO in Hong Kong raising roughly $1.7 billion (reported by some sources) for its listed businesses.
Named Businessperson of the Year by BusinessWeek
Recognized by BusinessWeek as a top business leader.
Listed in Time's 100 Most Influential People
Included in Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most powerful/influential people.
Announced Alibaba will dedicate 0.3% of annual revenue to environmental protection
At the 2010 AGM Ma said Alibaba would earmark 0.3% of annual revenue for environment projects (water and air quality focus).
Co‑founded Yunfeng Capital (private equity / VC)
Co‑founded Yunfeng Capital, a private equity and venture-capital firm focused on technology, media and other investments.
Alipay ownership controversy and transfer to separate entity
Ma moved control of Alipay to an entity outside Alibaba to comply with Chinese licensing rules; outside investors (Yahoo!, SoftBank) disputed timing/terms; dispute settled July 2011.
Alibaba online transaction volume exceeded one trillion yuan
In November 2012 Alibaba's online transaction volume crossed RMB 1 trillion, marking a major platform milestone.
Awarded honorary doctorate by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Received an honorary doctorate from HKUST in recognition of his business and philanthropic contributions.
Stepped down as Alibaba CEO; remained executive chairman
Announced resignation as CEO of Alibaba Group to focus on broader strategy while staying executive chairman.
Became chairman of The Nature Conservancy's China board
One day after stepping down as CEO, Ma became chairman of The Nature Conservancy's China Program; had been a trustee and joined global board earlier.
Announced Alibaba IPO plans (large NYSE offering)
In 2014 Alibaba prepared for a record‑setting U.S. IPO; various reports cited planned fundraising of ~$21.8–$25 billion.
Alibaba Group IPO on NYSE (record‑setting)
Alibaba made its NYSE debut in September 2014; the IPO widely reported as raising ~$25B (some sources report $21.8B).
Founded Jack Ma Foundation
Established the Jack Ma Foundation to focus on education, entrepreneurship, women's leadership, medical support and environmental protection.
Named China's richest by Forbes (reported)
Forbes listed Ma as China’s richest person (reported net worth around $22B in 2015).
Acquired French vineyards (Châteaux in Bordeaux)
Reported owner of Château de Sours, Château Guerry and Château Perenne in Bordeaux region as of 2016.
Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour
Awarded the Chevalier rank of France's Legion of Honour by the French foreign minister.
Acting debut: Gong Shou Dao (short kung fu film)
Made film acting debut in short martial-arts film 'Gong Shou Dao' (2017), collaborating with Jet Li and other martial arts stars.
Ranked 2nd on Fortune's World's 50 Greatest Leaders
Fortune magazine ranked Jack Ma second among the World's 50 Greatest Leaders in 2017.
Met U.S. President‑elect Donald Trump to discuss U.S. job creation
Met Trump at Trump Tower (Jan 9, 2017) and discussed Alibaba helping create '1 million' U.S. jobs over five years.
Honorary degrees (HKU, Tel Aviv Univ, De La Salle, others)
Between 2017–2018 Ma received multiple honorary doctorates (De La Salle University, University of Hong Kong, Tel Aviv University among them).
Announced plan to step down as Alibaba executive chairman in coming year
On his 54th birthday Ma announced he would step down as executive chairman within a year to focus on philanthropy.
Appointed UN advocate for sustainable development goals
In May 2019 Ma (and others) were appointed by the UN Secretary‑General as advocates for the Sustainable Development Goals.
Stepped down as Alibaba executive chairman (handed to Daniel Zhang)
Ma officially stepped down as Alibaba Group executive chairman and passed leadership to Daniel Zhang (on his 55th birthday).
Received Jordanian King Abdullah II first class medal for COVID‑19 contributions
In July 2020 Ma was awarded a first class medal by King Abdullah II for contributions to combating COVID‑19.
Gave controversial speech criticizing China's financial regulators
At a financial forum Ma publicly criticised China's regulators and banks — remarks widely viewed as precipitating regulatory scrutiny of Ant and Alibaba.
Shanghai Stock Exchange halted Ant Group IPO
Chinese regulators suspended Ant Group's planned IPO days before listing (initially set to be the world's largest IPO).
Chinese antitrust investigation opened into Alibaba
China's State Administration for Market Regulation announced an antitrust probe into Alibaba over alleged monopolistic practices.
First public appearance in months (Rural Teacher Initiative video)
Appeared via video link to rural teachers at a charitable Rural Teacher Initiative event — first public sighting since October 2020 period of low profile.
Alibaba fined for anti‑monopoly violations
Chinese regulators fined Alibaba a record RMB fine (~US$2.8 billion in April 2021) for anti‑competitive practices.
Resigned as president of Hupan University
Ma resigned from the presidency of Hupan (the elite business school he founded in 2015) amid regulatory pressure and restructuring.
Moved to Tokyo, Japan (largely retreated from public life)
Reports indicate Ma relocated to Tokyo and kept a low public profile following the tech-sector regulatory crackdown in China.
Ant Group restructured; Ma's voting rights reduced
In Jan 2023 Ant Group changed ownership and governance; Ma's voting rights were reduced (reported from ~50% to ~6%) and no single controller remained.
Alibaba converted to holding company and reorganized subsidiaries
In March 2023 Alibaba Group restructured into a holding company and announced separation of major businesses into independent firms.
Public photos of Ma touring Alibaba‑funded Yungu school
Photos/videos surfaced of Ma at Yungu school in Hangzhou — noted as one of his first public appearances after months abroad; reportedly persuaded by premier Li Qiang to return.
Invited Professor at Tokyo College (University of Tokyo) — appointment begins
Appointed as an invited professor at Tokyo College, University of Tokyo, focusing on sustainable agriculture and food production (term 1 May 2023–31 Oct 2024).
Replaced SoftBank as Alibaba's largest shareholder (reported)
In early 2024 it was reported Ma became Alibaba's largest shareholder after share/ownership changes (replacing SoftBank).
Term as invited professor at Tokyo College ended
Ma's invited professorship at Tokyo College (University of Tokyo) concluded on 31 Oct 2024.
Attended symposium hosted by Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People
Ma attended a symposium with industry leaders hosted by Xi Jinping in Beijing; his image appeared on Xinwen Lianbo though his name was omitted from state media reports.
Net worth estimated at US$27.2 billion (reported)
As of May 2025 Ma's net worth was publicly estimated at approximately US$27.2 billion.
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