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Jack Ma is a Chinese business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and executive chairman of the Alibaba Group, a multinational technology conglomerate. As of August 2018, he is one of China’s richest men with a net worth of US$37.6 billion, as well as one of the wealthiest people in the world. Ma’s primarily ideology was for an open and market driven economy.

Birth Name

Ma Yun

Nickname

Jack Ma

Profession

Businessman, Investor, Philanthropist

Nationality

Chinese

Personal Life

Birthday / Date of Birth

Jack Ma was born on the 15th of October 1964, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Age

He’s currently 59 years old.

Sun Sign

Libra

Ethnicity

Asian / Chinese

Education

After his school studies, Jack Ma enrolled at the Hangzhou Teacher’s Institute (now Hangzhou Normal University), graduating with a B.A. in Englis. He later attended Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and graduated in 2006.

Family Details

  • Father – Ma Laifa (Musician and storyteller)

  • Mother – Cui Wencai (Musician and storyteller)
  • Siblings – He has an Older Brother and Younger sister.

Marital Status

Married

Girlfriend / Spouse

Jack Ma has dated-

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  • Zhang Ying (1980-Present) – Jack got married to Zhang Ying in the 80s. They had first met while studying at Hangzhou Normal University. They got married just after graduating from the university. They were both working as teachers at that time. Over the course of their marriage, they have become parents to two children– a son and a daughter.

Physical Statistics

Height

  • In feet – 4 feet 11¾ inches
  • In centimeters – 152 cm
  • In meters – 1.52 m

Weight

  • In Kilograms – 59 kg
  • In Pounds – 130 lbs

Body Measurements

His body specs like chest, biceps and waist are unknown.

Body Build

Slim

Eye Color

Black

Hair Color

Black

Sexuality

Straight

Distinctive Features

  • Short and slight body
  • Gaunt face

Professional Statistics

Famous For

Being the co-founder of the Chinese multinational technology conglomerate, Alibaba Group. He serves as an executive chairman of the company.

Film Debut

In 2017, Jack Ma entered the acting industry with his first kung fu short film Gong Shou Dao. It was filmed in collaboration with the Double 11 Shopping Carnival Singles’ Day.

Jack Ma Net worth

Jack Ma has a net worth of $25 billion dollars as of 2023. Ma’s wealth mostly comes from his 6.3 percent stake in Alibaba Group Holdings, roughly 160 million shares, and the online payment service Alipay.

Social Media Profiles

He doesn’t have any social media account.

Some Lesser Known Facts About Jack Ma

  • Growing up, Ma learned English on his won by speaking with English-speakers at Hangzhou international hotel. He used to travel 70 miles on his bicycle to give tourists tours of the area to practice his English for nine years.
  • One of his pen pals nicknamed him Jack as he wasn’t comfortable pronouncing his original name.
  • After graduation, he didn’t get select in any company even after applying for 30 different jobs. He even applied for a job in KFC, but was rejected. In addition he applied 10 times for Harvard and got rejected.
  • in 1995, he found China Yellow Pages, the first internet company ever established in China.
  • In 1998, he was hired to head an IT company set up by the China International Electronic Commerce Center, which falls under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. He quit his job in 1999.
  • In 1999, Jack Ma founded Alibaba.com, a business-to-business commerce site. Since that, Alibaba has grown exponentially becoming one of the largest online marketplace in the world.
  • Ma is a board member of Japan’s SoftBank and China’s Huayi Brothers Media Corporation. He became a trustee of The Nature Conservancy’s China program in 2009 and joined its global board of directors in April 2010.
  • In 2004, China Central Television and its viewers selected Ma as one of the “Top 10 Business Leaders of the Year”.
  • Forbes China also selected him as one of the Top 10 Most Respected Entrepreneurs in China by in 2009. Ma received the 2009 CCTV Economic Person of the Year: Business Leaders of the Decade Award.
  • In October 2017, Ma was given an honorary degree of Doctor of Science in Technopreneurship from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines.
  • Ma has often been invited to lecture at universities such as the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and Peking University.
  • Jack started learning English on his own at a very young age. He used to practice his English-speaking skills by conversing with speakers at Hangzhou International Hotel.
  • For 9 years, he used to travel 70 miles on his cycle so as to give tourists tour of the local area.
  • He got his well-known name Jack Ma from one of his pen pals who was one of the foreign tourists. His pal decided to name him Jack as he found it hard to remember and pronounce his Chinese name.
  • In his youth, he struggled a bit with his studies as he had to give college entrance exams for 4 consecutive years before he could eventually get admission in one college.
  • After completion of his college studies, he struggled to find a job as his applications for about 30 different jobs were rejected.
  • Jack once applied for a job in KFC but was rejected after an interview while the other 23 applicants were selected, leaving him with an unenviable label of being the only rejection.
  • He realized the power of Internet after an ugly website that he had created related to China got him numerous positive response within hours of website’s deployment.
  • His first entrepreneurial venture was a company named China Yellow Pages that he had started with $20,000, which he had raised with the assistance of his wife and a friend.
  • The China Yellow Pages managed to earn about US$800,000 within three years of the official launch.
  • In 1998, Ma was hired to head an IT company set up by the China International Electronic Commerce Center, which falls under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. He quit his job in 1999.
  • In 1999, he moved back to his hometown and started Alibaba at his apartment. He had roped in a group of his 18 friends to start the company.
  • After his company managed to raise over $25 billion in an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2014, it became the first company in the history to raise such an amount in an IPO.
  • He has been invited to deliver lectures at the prestigious universities such as the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Peking University.
  • In 2007, Jack was the target of criticism and worldwide protests after his firm raked in enormous profits from the sale of animal products. Jack responded by announcing that products with shark flesh won’t be sold on Alibaba.
  • At the event held to celebrate Alibaba’s 18th year of establishment in September 2017, he dressed up like Michael Jackson and performed on American popstar’s hit single, Thriller on stage.
  • Ma showed off his martial arts skills in the short film, On That Night… While We Dream(originally titled as Gong shou dao). It was released in the US in February 2018.
  • In 2017, he was placed on the second spot in the Fortune Magazine’s list featuring World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.
  • Although he has amassed his fortune due to the immense success of his e-commerce website, he has often professed that he has limited knowledge of technology and his technical competence is limited to sending and receiving emails.
  • He is reported to have got his first computer at the age of 33.
  • Jack first heard about the Internet in 1994 and was introduced to it in 1995 by his friends during his visit to the United States.
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