Jack Ma

Ma Yun
Ma Yun
Born	Ma Yun; September 10, 1964 (age 62); Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Other names	Jack Ma
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, philanthropist
Years active	1994–present
Known for	Founder of Alibaba Group, Jack Ma Foundation, Yunfeng Capital
Notable work	Alibaba Group, Ant Group

Ma Yun (; born 10 September 1964), widely recognized as Jack Ma, is a prominent Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Jack Ma Foundation and played a key role in establishing both Alibaba Group and Yunfeng Capital. By May 2025, his net worth was approximated at 27.2 billion.

After attempting the gaokao exam three times, Ma obtained a bachelor's degree in English from Hangzhou Normal University in 1988. Subsequently, he worked as a lecturer in English and international trade at Hangzhou Dianzi University. Having been intrigued by internet business since the 1980s, he launched Hangzhou Hope Translation Agency in 1994. The following year, he developed its website and left his academic position to start Hangzhou Hope Computer Services Co., Ltd., one of China's pioneering internet companies providing an online directory service. In 1996, China Telecommunications Corporation acquired the company; however, Ma departed in 1997 due to dissatisfaction with the partnership and then focused on creating websites for China’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. In 1999, he co-founded Alibaba Group, which began as a business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform before evolving into a global technology powerhouse.

Ma has been regarded as a leading advocate and international representative of Chinese entrepreneurship. His prominence declined after Chinese regulators stopped the planned initial public offering (IPO) of his digital payments company, Ant Group, in 2020. This followed his outspoken criticism of China’s financial authorities for emphasizing risk management over innovation.

Early life and education

Born as Ma Yun on 10 September 1964 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, he developed an early passion for the English language, frequently practicing with English-speaking guests at the Hangzhou International Hotel. For nearly a decade, he cycled daily as a tour guide for foreign visitors to improve his proficiency. One of his foreign pen pals gave him the nickname "Jack" because they found his Chinese name difficult to pronounce. Despite initial academic challenges and low results on China’s high school entrance examination, Ma remained determined.

In 1980, he encountered Ken Morley from the Australia-China Friendship Society; Morley’s family later hosted Ma during a visit to Australia. Ma credited this 29-day stay in Newcastle with broadening his international business outlook.

Ma initially failed the Chinese college entrance exam twice, particularly struggling with mathematics. On his third attempt in 1984, he scored 89 points—below the required cutoff—but was admitted to Hangzhou Normal University’s English Department due to unfilled enrollment quotas. During his university years, Ma distinguished himself academically, ranking among the top five students and holding leadership roles including two terms as chairman of both the student union and the Hangzhou Federation of Students.

He graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Hangzhou Normal University and then took up a position as an English and international trade instructor at Hangzhou Dianzi University. Ma also stated that he applied to Harvard Business School ten times but faced rejection every time.

Early career

After completing his studies at Hangzhou Normal University in 1988, Ma submitted applications for 31 entry-level positions, facing rejection from all, including KFC. This period coincided with the closing years of the first decade following Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms in China.

In 1994, Ma established Hangzhou Haibo Translation Agency (杭州海波翻譯社), offering Chinese translation services online. During a 1995 trip to the United States with colleagues, he noticed a scarcity of online resources about China. Together with a friend, he developed a simple website focused on Chinese beer, which quickly gained attention from investors in China. This experience highlighted the Internet’s potential for Ma. By April 1995, Ma and his partner He Yibing launched China Pages and secured the domain chinapages.com in May. Within three years, China Pages generated profits nearing 5 million RMB (equivalent to approximately US$1.18 million today).

With assistance from friends based in the United States, Ma created websites for various Chinese enterprises. Despite the limitations of slow dial-up internet connections at the time, he recognized the Internet as a significant business opportunity.

Between 1998 and 1999, Ma managed an IT firm affiliated with the China International Electronic Commerce Center under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. In 1999, he departed to found Alibaba in Hangzhou alongside 18 friends, starting with an initial capital of 500,000 yuan.

At the turn of the millennium, Alibaba secured $25 million in venture capital funding from Goldman Sachs and SoftBank. The investment was intended to foster China's burgeoning e-commerce market and support small to medium-sized businesses ahead of China's accession to the WTO in 2001. After three years under Ma’s leadership, Alibaba became profitable as he worked to expand e-commerce on a global scale.

Beginning in 2003, Ma introduced several ventures including Taobao Marketplace, Alipay (operated by Ant Financial Services Group), Ali Mama, and Lynx. Following Taobao's swift expansion, eBay proposed acquiring it; however, Ma declined and instead obtained a $1 billion investment from Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang to further Alibaba’s growth.

Chairman of Alibaba Group

From its inception in 1999, Ma held the position of executive chairman at Alibaba Group, a prominent Chinese technology conglomerate overseeing nine major subsidiaries: Alibaba.com, Taobao Marketplace, Tmall, eTao, Alibaba Cloud Computing, Juhuasuan, 1688.com, AliExpress.com, and Alipay. At the company's 2010 annual shareholder meeting, Ma announced that Alibaba would dedicate 0.3% of its yearly revenue to environmental initiatives targeting water and air quality improvements. He emphasized that Alibaba aimed to enable individuals to generate "sustainable money" that benefits both themselves and society.

Despite Alibaba’s stature as a leading tech enterprise, Ma did not possess formal technical training or extensive experience managing technology firms. His academic background was in English rather than computer science, distinguishing him from many Chinese tech founders with engineering degrees. Instead, Ma utilized his strengths as a marketer, leader, and organizer with high emotional intelligence to guide technical experts across various disciplines. In 2010, he admitted that he had never personally programmed or completed a sale and only acquired his first personal computer for business purposes at age 33.

In 2011, Alibaba took control of Alipay to comply with Chinese regulatory requirements for payment platforms. Some analysts criticized this move as an undervalued internal transaction conducted without board approval; however, Ma maintained that the board had been properly informed. The ownership dispute involving Alibaba Group, Yahoo!, and Softbank was settled by July 2011.

By November 2012, the volume of transactions processed through Alibaba’s platforms exceeded one trillion yuan. On 10 May 2013, Ma stepped down from his role as CEO but continued serving as executive chairman. In September 2014, Alibaba prepared for its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange with expectations of raising over $25 billion. By 2016, Ma had acquired several Bordeaux vineyards including Château de Sours and Château Perenne.

On 9 January 2017, Ma met with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower to discuss plans for creating up to one million American jobs over five years by expanding Alibaba’s presence in the United States. In September of that year—coinciding with Alibaba’s 18th anniversary—Ma performed a Michael Jackson-inspired stage act; he had previously sung Elton John’s "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" at company events. That same month he collaborated with Hong Kong billionaire Sir Li Ka-shing to launch a digital wallet service in Hong Kong.

On 10 September 2018, Ma announced his intention to resign as executive chairman within one year to concentrate on philanthropic efforts through his foundation. He denied rumors suggesting government pressure influenced his decision. Daniel Zhang succeeded him as executive chairman. Ma officially retired from Alibaba’s board on 1 October 2020.

Amid regulatory clampdown

From October 2020 through January 2021, Ma significantly curtailed his public engagements amid intensified government scrutiny of his enterprises. The Financial Times associated this withdrawal with a controversial address Ma delivered at the People's Bank of China financial markets forum, where he openly criticized Chinese regulators and banking institutions, characterizing state banks as having a pawnshop-like mindset and dismissing the Basel Accords as an "elderly club." According to Wired, Ma’s reduced visibility was driven by governmental pressure alongside apprehensions from investors and staff affected by the suspension of Ant Group’s IPO.

On 3 November 2020, the Shanghai Stock Exchange suspended Ant Group's planned IPO, citing concerns over financial system stability. Regulatory authorities expanded their focus beyond Ant Group to scrutinize leading tech conglomerates such as BAT—Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent—accusing them of monopolistic behavior detrimental to market competition. Despite Ant Group’s self-identification as a technology firm, nearly 90% of its income derived from financial services, prompting the People's Bank of China to advocate for its regulation as a financial holding company since 2018. Draft regulatory guidelines released during the IPO process heightened concerns about Ant’s elevated valuation and associated risks to the market.

Ma made a public reappearance on 20 January 2021 through a video message at the Rural Teacher Initiative charity event. In May 2021, he stepped down as president of Hupan University, an institution he founded in 2015. By 2022, Ma had moved to Tokyo, largely retreating from business visibility. Between May 2023 and October 2024, he held an invited professorship at Tokyo College, University of Tokyo, concentrating on sustainable agriculture and food production. In March 2023, Ma visited China again during a trip to an Alibaba-supported school near the company’s headquarters; reports indicated Premier Li Qiang played a role in encouraging his return. That same month, Alibaba underwent reorganization into a holding company structure comprising six independent subsidiaries—a strategy reportedly devised by Ma in collaboration with CEO Daniel Zhang while abroad.

In January 2023, Ant Group revamped its ownership and governance framework: Ma’s voting power diminished from 50% to 6%, effectively removing his controlling interest. No shareholder currently holds majority control, and an additional independent director was appointed to the board. Chinese regulators commended these reforms as steps toward enhanced transparency and corporate governance.

By early 2024, Ma had surpassed SoftBank to become Alibaba's largest shareholder. On 17 February 2025, he participated in a prominent symposium hosted by Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, signaling a cautious resurgence in influence following China’s technology sector crackdown—although state media refrained from naming him explicitly despite displaying his image, reflecting ambiguous signals regarding his political rehabilitation.

Entertainment career

In 2017, Ma ventured into acting with his debut in the kung fu short film Gong Shou Dao, directed by Wen Zhang and produced by Jet Li. The film featured Ma alongside renowned martial artists and was connected to the Double 11 Shopping Carnival Singles' Day. That same year, he also took part in Alibaba's 18th-anniversary celebration by performing, demonstrating his active involvement in corporate events.

In November 2020, Alibaba executive Peng Lei succeeded Ma as a judge on Africa’s Business Heroes, reportedly due to conflicts in scheduling.

Awards and honors

In 2004, China Central Television (CCTV) recognized Ma as one of the "Top 10 Economic Personalities of the Year."
The World Economic Forum designated him a "Young Global Leader" in 2005.
In 2005, Fortune included him among Asia's "25 Most Powerful Businesspeople."
Businessweek named him "Businessperson of the Year" in 2007.
Listed by Barron's in 2008 as one of the 30 "World's Best CEOs."
Appeared on Time's list of the 100 most influential people worldwide in both 2009 and 2014.
In 2009, BusinessWeek ranked him among China's Most Powerful People, while Forbes China featured him as one of the Top 10 Most Respected Entrepreneurs in the country.
Honored by Forbes Asia in 2010 as an Asian Hero of Philanthropy for his efforts in disaster relief and poverty alleviation.
Received an honorary doctorate from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2013.
Held board positions at Japan's SoftBank (2007–2020) and China's Huayi Brothers Media Corporation; after stepping down as Alibaba CEO, he assumed the chairmanship of The Nature Conservancy's China Program in 2013.
Placed 30th on Forbes' global ranking of most powerful individuals in 2014.
Awarded Entrepreneur of the Year at the Asian Awards in 2015 and granted an honorary doctorate by National Taiwan Normal University.
Conferred the Chevalier title in the French Legion of Honour in 2016.
Ranked second on Fortune's World's 50 Greatest Leaders list (2017) and secured third place in KPMG's worldwide survey on tech innovation visionaries.
Received honorary degrees from De La Salle University Manila (2017), University of Hong Kong (2018), and Tel Aviv University (2018).
Named a United Nations advocate for sustainable development goals in 2019.
Awarded distinguished honors for contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic by Jordan's King Abdullah II and Pakistan's President in 2020.
In 2023, honored with the Confucius Education Award at the World Chinese Culture Festival held in Tokyo, coinciding with his appointment at the University of Tokyo.

Views

Ma embraces both Buddhism and Taoism. During a 2014 interview, he credited America's societal resilience to its Judeo-Christian roots and stressed that China must cultivate a constructive value system to move beyond the Cultural Revolution’s impact.

In 2017, he promoted utilizing big data and artificial intelligence to improve planned economies by addressing information asymmetries that previously hindered their effectiveness.

In November 2018, China's People's Daily disclosed Ma’s membership in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which surprised many analysts.

Ma attracted international controversy for supporting the contentious 996 working hour system, which entails working twelve hours daily, six days per week. In 2019, he described 996 as a "huge blessing" essential for achieving success but anticipated that AI could eventually reduce workweeks to twelve hours spread over three days. Nonetheless, he expressed doubts about AI fully replacing humans, emphasizing that a "love quotient" remains crucial for success. Additionally, Ma cautioned about future difficulties arising from population decline.

Philanthropy

Ma established the Jack Ma Foundation, dedicated to advancing education, environmental sustainability, and public health initiatives.

Following the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, Alibaba contributed $808,000 to aid victims. Ma became a trustee for The Nature Conservancy’s China program in 2009 and joined its global Board a year later.

In 2015, Alibaba launched the nonprofit Alibaba Hong Kong Young Entrepreneurs Foundation to foster local entrepreneurial talent. That same year, Alibaba financed rebuilding efforts for 1,000 homes damaged by Nepal’s earthquake and supported fundraising for an additional 9,000 houses. Ma also founded the Hupan School, a business education institution.

Ma stepped down from his role at Alibaba in September 2018 to concentrate on education, philanthropy, and environmental causes through his foundation.

Forbes recognized him among "Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy" in 2019 and honored him with the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to underserved populations across China, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East.

During the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, both the Alibaba Foundation and Jack Ma Foundation donated medical equipment to nations spanning the United States, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

External links

Executive profiles at Alibaba Group
Profile at The Nature Conservancy (Board of Directors)