Jack Ma

Biography

Rejected and underestimated early — he failed key exams and was turned down for dozens of jobs — Ma channelled China's internet boom into Alibaba, an ecosystem of e-commerce, payments and cloud computing used by hundreds of millions. After government scrutiny intensified in 2020, he retreated from public life into teaching and agriculture.

Chinese entrepreneur and former English teacher who co-founded Alibaba, one of the world's largest e-commerce companies.

Known for

Co-founding Alibaba Group.

Notable works & defining projects

• Alibaba
• Taobao
• Ant Group (founder)

Notable achievements

• Co-founded Alibaba in 1999 from his Hangzhou apartment
• Alibaba's 2014 New York IPO was the largest in history at the time ($25 billion)
• Founded the Jack Ma Foundation, focused on education and the environment

Timeline

1. 1995Founded China Pages, an early online directory for Chinese businesses
2. 1999Co-founded Alibaba with 17 others in his Hangzhou apartment
3. 2014Alibaba's New York IPO raised $25 billion, then the largest in history

Did you know?

• He has often told how he learned English as a boy by guiding foreign tourists in Hangzhou in exchange for conversation
• His adopted English name, Jack, was given to him by a tourist pen-friend, he has said