Jack Ma Fast Facts

Here’s a look at the life of Jack Ma, co-founder of China’s most successful tech empire and billionaire entrepreneur.

Personal

Birth date: September 10, 1964

Birth place: Hangzhou, China

Birth name: Ma Yun

Father: Ma Laifa

Mother: Cui Wencai

Marriage: Zhang Ying (Cathy Zhang)

Children: Two (some sources say three)

Education: Hangzhou Teachers College, 1988; Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, M.B.A.

Education and Life

Ma showed foreign tourists around his hometown as a child to improve his English.

He was admitted to Hangzhou Teachers College on the third try, after failing the entrance exam twice.

Owns a vineyard in France.

Supports the Chinese work practice known as “996.” The number refers to working from 9am to 9pm six days a week.

Is a member of the Communist Party.

Alibaba, Career and Retirement

1988 – Begins teaching English at Hangzhou Teachers College.

1994 – Ma founds his first company, the Haibo Translation Agency.

1995 – Ma founds China Pages, an internet directory for Chinese companies.

1999 – Co-Founds e-commerce company Alibaba Group with 18 others, working out of an apartment in Hangzhou.

2003 – Founds Taobao, an online retail website.

2004 – Founds Alipay, an internet payment platform.

2010 – Co-founds venture-capital firm Yunfeng.

2011 – An internal investigation into fraud claims takes place at Alibaba. The investigation finds roughly 100 Alibaba salespeople allowed fraudulent entities to be designated as “gold suppliers,” a title reserved for independently verified legitimate sellers. In response to the allegation, David Wei, the chief executive officer, and Elvis Lee, the chief operating officer, resign.

January 15, 2013 – Ma announces he is stepping down as CEO of Alibaba, but will remain as the company’s executive chairman.

September 19, 2014 – Alibaba raises $25 billion in a record-shattering IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.

October 2014 – Establishes Ant Group, a financial technology company.

December 15, 2014 – Founds the Jack Ma Foundation, a philanthropic organization.

2017 – Co-founds a private school, the Yungu School, in Hangzhou.

January 9, 2017 – Ma meets with US President Donald Trump to discuss plans for creating “one million” jobs in the United States through Alibaba Group’s e-commerce platform.

November 11, 2017 – Makes his film screen debut in “Gong Shou Dao,” a kung fu movie.

September 2019 – Announces he will step down as executive chairman of Alibaba. He is succeeded by CEO Yong Zhang, also known as Daniel Zhang.

October 24, 2020 – Ma makes a controversial speech in China, calling for reform of the country’s financial regulatory system.

November 3, 2020 – A planned IPO of Ant Group, Alibaba’s financial affiliate, is blocked at the last minute by Chinese regulators.

December 24, 2020 – China launches an antitrust investigation into Alibaba. The State Administration for Market Regulation, China’s top market regulator, announces that it will probe alleged monopolistic behavior by Alibaba.

January 20, 2021 – Ma makes his first public appearance in roughly three months while speaking at the online ceremony of the Rural Teacher Initiative event. Ma hadn’t made a public appearance or social media post since late October, just over a week before a much anticipated stock market listing of Alibaba’s (BABA) financial affiliate, Ant Group, is suspended.