Jack Ma Biography – Wiki
Ma Yun best known as Jack Ma is a Chinese business magnate, investor, politician, and philanthropist. Ma is the co-founder and former executive chairman of the Chinese multinational technology conglomerate, Alibaba Group. Before venturing into business, Ma was an English and international trade teacher at Hangzhou Dianzi University.
Jack Ma is a self-made billionaire who has had humble beginnings. He is seen as a global ambassador and one of the most powerful and influential people in the world. He ranked number 21st on Forbes “World’s Most Powerful People” list and in 2017 he ranked second in the annual “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” list by Fortune. He announced his retirement from Alibaba in 2018 September. He retired to pursue his other interests which are educational work, philanthropy, and environmental causes. As off 2020, Ma is the richest man in China with an estimated net worth of $44.3 billion.
Jack Ma Education
Ma attended Hangzhou Normal University which is now Hangzhou Teacher’s Institute. He graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Ma failed in three entrance exams but was able to pass the fourth entrance exam. While in school, Ma was the head of the Student Council. While he was applying for universities after graduating from high school, he failed the entrance exams. He wanted to be enrolled at Harvard University but was rejected each time he applied.
Jack Ma Career | Jack Ma Alibaba
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English, Ma tried looking for a job but he failed in each attempt. He had applied for 30 different jobs but got rejected by all of them. In an interview, he said, “I even went to KFC when it came to my city. Twenty-four people went for the job. Twenty-three were accepted. I was the only guy ..” He also applied for a job in the police forces but he was told that ” you’re no good.
It was in 1994 when Man first heard about the internet. It was also in 1994 when he founded his first company, Hangzhou Haibo Translation Agency which provided English translation and interpretation. In 1995, Ma took a trip to the United States of America where he had his first encounter with a computer. His first search word was Beer and even though there were many search results from other countries, there was no search from China. He saw the shortage of Chinese websites and saw this as a business opportunity.
Upon arriving from the USA, he founded Chinapages together with He Yibing. China pages created Web sites for Chinese businesses and was one of China’s first Internet companies. In 1995 1oth of May, they registered the domain chinapages.com in the United States and within three years, the company had made 5,000,000 Chinese Yuan. This was equivalent to US$800,000.
Ma recalled on the day that they first got connected saying, “The day we got connected to the Web, I invited friends and TV people over to my house”, and on a very slow dial-up connection, “we waited three and a half hours and got half a page”, adding “We drank, watched TV and played cards, waiting. But I was so proud. I proved the Internet existed”.
Ma became the head of an information technology company from 1998 to 1999. The company was established by the China International Electronic Commerce Center, a department of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. It was in 1999 when he quit his job and returned to Hangzhou with his team to found Alibaba. He co-founded the China-based business-to-business marketplace site in his apartment with a group of 18 friends.
Alibaba started from his apartment didn’t have any investors at that time. Alibaba won twice a total of a $25 million foreign venture capital investment both in 1999 October and January 20. Ma wished to improve the global e-commerce system. In 2003 he founded the Chinese online shopping website Taobao Marketplace, Alipay, Ali Mama, and Lynx. The rapid rise of Taobao attracted eBay which offered to purchase the company, however, Ma rejected their offer. He instead gathered support from Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang who made a $1 billion investment.
After reports that Alibaba was raising over $25 million in IPO, it became one of the most valuable technology companies in the world after raising the full $25 billion, the largest initial public offering in US financial history. Alibaba’s online transaction capacity exceeded one trillion yuan in 2012 November. In 2016, Ma completed the purchase of Château de Sours in Bordeaux, Chateau Guerry in Côtes de Bourg and Château Perenne in Blaye, Côtes de Bordeaux.
In 2018 10th of September, Ma announced that he was going to step down as executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding in the coming year. He denied reports that he was forced to step aside by the Chinese government. He wanted to focus on his other interests which are educational work, philanthropy, and environmental causes. Daniel Zhang would then take over as the executive chairman.
On being a Philanthropist, Jack Ma is the founder of the Jack Ma Foundation, an organization focused on improving education, the environment, and public health. In 2008, his company, Alibaba donated $808,000 to victims of the Sichuan earthquake and in 2009 Jack Ma became a trustee of The Nature Conservancy’s China program. In 2010 he joined the global Board of Directors of the organization.
A non-profit organization, Alibaba Hong Kong Young Entrepreneurs Foundation was launched in 2009 that supports Hong Kong entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses. Still, in 2009, Alibaba funded the rebuilding of 1,000 houses that were damaged by the earthquake hit in Nepal and raised money for other 9,000 houses.
Aside from being a successful entrepreneur, he’s also an actor. He made his acting debut in 2017, in the kung fu short film Gong Shou Dao.
Jack Ma Age
Ma was born in the year, 1964 on the 10th of September. The entrepreneur and philanthropist is 55 years old as of 2019.
Jack Ma Family
Jack Ma was born as Ma Yun in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. He was born to his parents whose information is not yet disclosed. There is also no information about his siblings if he has any. while growing up, Ma loved studying English and he would ride 17 miles to give tourist tours around the area so he could get the chance of learning new words in English.
Jack Ma Wife
Ma is a happily married man. He has been married to his wife Zhang Ying since 1988. Even though her husband is very famous, Ying loves her privacy and her life away from the public year. There is no much information regarding her life and their married life. They have been blessed with three children.
Jack Ma Children
Ma and his wife Zhang Ying have been blessed with three children. Ma keeps his family affairs very private and away from the media. There is no much information about his children. If any information comes up about his children, it will be updated.
Here are some interesting facts you don’t want to miss about XY.
- Full Name: Jack Ma originally Ma Yun
- Age/ How Old?: 55 years old
- Date of Birth: 10 September 1964
- Place of Birth: Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Nationality: Chinese
- Fathers Name: No available
- Mothers Name: Not available
- Siblings: Not available
- Married?: Yes
- Children/ Kids: Three
- Height: 1.61 m
Jack Ma Net Worth
Ma is a self-made billionaire with an estimated net worth of $44.3 billion. He is one of the richest men in china and in the world. He ranked number 21st on Forbes “World’s Most Powerful People” list and in 2017 he ranked second in the annual “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” list by Fortune.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jack Ma
Who is Jack Ma?
Jack Ma is a Chinese business magnate, investor, politician, and philanthropist.
How old is Jack Ma?
He is 55 years old born on 1964 10th of September.
How tall is Ma?
He stands at a height of 1.61 m.
Is Jack Ma married?
Yes, he is married to his wife Zhang Ying since 1988.
How much is Jack worth?
Ma is one of the richest men in China with an estimated net worth of $44.3 billion.
How much does Ma make?
Being the founder of Alibaba Group, Jack Ma topped the Forbes China Rich List for the second year running in 2019. In 2019, his fortune rose to $38.2 billion from $34.6 billion in 2018. In 2020, he has a reported net worth of $44.3 billion.
Is Ma dead or alive?
Jack Ma is alive and very healthy.
Where is Jack Ma now?
Ma stepped down as the executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding in the coming year. He now focuses on his other interests which are educational work, philanthropy, and environmental causes.