Formerly one of the richest men in Asia, Jack Ma has been rarely seen in public post his retirement from the company that he built and took to dizzying heights. He not only became an inspiration for a generation but also proved what ambition and relentless pursuit can achieve. He had become an international celebrity and was frequently invited to impart his wisdom to students and professionals around the world.
Born into a poor family in Hangzhou, China in 1964, Ma Yun or Jack Ma always had the entrepreneurial bug within him. His stories of having to face rejection multiple times in his life are now part of the legends associated with one of China’s biggest global companies. Starting as a teacher and then the owner of a translation company, Jack Ma was fascinated by the internet. He launched Alibaba, an online marketplace in 1994 which at its height had overtaken eBay and Amazon as the world’s largest online marketplace.
He overtook Wang Jialing of the Dalian Wanda Group to become the richest man in China in 2016 when Alibaba was clocking in over USD 460 billion in revenue. In addition to the marketplace, the Alibaba Group also owns one of the largest cloud computing businesses and also one of the largest logistics firms in the world. In the space of 2 decades, Jack Ma had become the most recognisable face internationally to emerge from China. His business ventures did not stop here and he also founded some of the most popular online companies in China including Ali Pay, Taobao, Lynx and Ali Mama which were consolidated under the Ant Group.
Things hit a rough patch for Jack Ma in October 2020 when he stepped down as the head of Ali Baba and decided to focus on making Ant Group the largest fintech company in the world by digitising banking. After making a highly controversial speech where he criticised the state-run banks in communist China, he suddenly disappeared from public view.
The proposed IPO for the Ant Group was scrapped by the Chinese government and it has begun selling off parts of the company to its preferred partners. Reports say that Jack Ma’s wealth has been stripped in half since his disappearance almost a year ago. Amidst rumours that he may not be alive, he made a surprise appearance at a charity event early this year and was also spotted playing golf at an island in China. It is believed that he became too big too soon and that too without the support of the communist party or the government who decided to reign in his influence and make an example for future billionaires.
Our source within the communist party in China told us that Jack Ma did not expect that the government would hit back like this. “He believed that he could not be touched as he has done so much in contributing to the Chinese economy by helping local businesses, creating employment and building a positive opinion about Chinese companies internationally. He forgot that in China, no one is bigger than Xi Jinping. That brought about his downfall,” she said.
The systematic shutting down or disinvestment of the Ant group has been shaving off the presence of the company and the personal wealth of Jack Ma at an alarming pace. Even ventures like the innovative Human Business School is now being disbanded.
Our sources tell us that Jack Ma is laying low after conceding his entire empire to the Chinese government. Although he has not made a public appearance in over 6 months, he is safe and sound.
Read the full article at: http://thedailyvanilla.com/2021/09/08/jack-ma-finally-makes-his-real-dream-come-true/