Jack Ma

Early Life

Ma Yun, known as Jack Ma, was born on 10 September 1964 in Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, China. As a boy he practised English by talking with foreign visitors at West Lake in Hangzhou. He studied English at Hangzhou Normal University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1988, and then taught English and international trade at a university in Hangzhou.

Education

Ma earned a bachelor's degree in English from Hangzhou Normal University in 1988.

Career

Ma studied English at Hangzhou Normal University, graduating in 1988, and then taught English and international trade. In 1995 he founded China Pages, one of China's first internet companies. In February 1999 he returned to Hangzhou and co-founded Alibaba as a business-to-business online marketplace. The company launched Taobao, a consumer shopping site, in 2003, and Alipay, a payments service, in 2004. Ma served as executive chairman of Alibaba Group from 1999. In September 2014 Alibaba listed on the New York Stock Exchange, raising about $25 billion. In 2018 he announced he would step down as chairman, and he did so in September 2019, succeeded by Daniel Zhang. He left Alibaba's board in 2020. In October 2020 he publicly criticised Chinese financial regulators at the Bund Finance Summit in Shanghai, and in November 2020 regulators halted the planned stock-market listing of Ant Group. In April 2021 Alibaba was fined $2.8 billion by Chinese regulators for violating anti-monopoly law. In January 2023 Ma gave up control of Ant Group under a change to its voting structure. From May to October 2023 he served as a visiting professor at Tokyo College, part of the University of Tokyo, working on sustainable agriculture and food production. He holds no executive or board role at Alibaba or Ant Group as of November 2026.

Achievements

Ma's central achievement is Alibaba, which he co-founded in 1999 with a group of partners in his Hangzhou apartment as a business-to-business marketplace for small Chinese manufacturers. Under his leadership as executive chairman, the company expanded into consumer shopping with Taobao in 2003, payments with Alipay, and cloud computing, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2014 in what was then the largest initial public offering in history. He oversaw the creation of the Ant Group in 2014 as the parent of Alipay and other financial services. He also founded the Jack Ma Foundation and co-founded Yunfeng Capital.

• Co-founded Alibaba Group in 1999 and built it from a small business-to-business marketplace into one of the world's largest e-commerce and technology companies
• Founded Taobao in 2003 and oversaw Alipay, which became the basis of the Ant Group financial-technology business
• Led Alibaba's listing on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2014, then the largest initial public offering in history
• Created the Ant Group in 2014 as the parent of Alipay and other financial services
• Founded the Jack Ma Foundation and co-founded Yunfeng Capital, a private-equity firm

Legacy

Ma is the best-known entrepreneur of China's internet era: Alibaba changed how hundreds of millions of people in China shop, sell and pay, and its listing in 2014 marked the arrival of Chinese technology companies on the world stage. His career also shows the limits placed on private business power in China: after his public criticism of regulators in October 2020, the Ant Group listing was halted, Alibaba was fined, and in January 2023 he gave up control of Ant Group. Since then he has kept a low public profile, working on philanthropy through the Jack Ma Foundation and on agriculture and food production. Because he is a living person whose public roles change frequently, this profile records only documented events and will need regular updating from reliable sources.

Contributions

Ma's work brought e-commerce to China at scale. Alibaba connected small Chinese manufacturers with buyers around the world, Taobao gave consumers an online marketplace, and Alipay gave them a way to pay for it. Together these services changed shopping, payments and small-business trade across China.

Notable Works

• Alibaba Group (co-founder, 1999)
• Taobao (2003)
• Alipay (2004)
• Ant Group (created 2014)
• Jack Ma Foundation (founder)

Milestones

• 1964 — Born on 10 September in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
• 1988 — Earned a bachelor's degree in English from Hangzhou Normal University Source: Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
• 1995 — Founded China Pages, one of China's first internet companies Source: Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
• 1999 — Co-founded Alibaba Group in Hangzhou Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
• 2003 — Alibaba launched Taobao Source: Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
• 2014 — Alibaba listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the largest IPO in history at the time Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
• 2019 — Stepped down as executive chairman of Alibaba Group Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
• 2020 — Regulators halted the planned Ant Group stock-market listing Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
• 2021 — Alibaba was fined $2.8 billion for violating anti-monopoly law Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
• 2023 — Gave up control of Ant Group under a voting-structure change Source: History of Jack Ma (ITLibra)
• 2023 — Became a visiting professor at Tokyo College, University of Tokyo Source: History of Jack Ma (ITLibra)

Timeline

1. 10 September 1964

   Born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

   Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
2. 1988

   Earned a bachelor's degree in English from Hangzhou Normal University and began teaching English

   Year only — exact date unknown Source: Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
3. 1995

   Founded China Pages, one of China's first internet companies

   Year only — exact date unknown Source: Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
4. 1999-02

   Co-founded Alibaba Group in Hangzhou as a business-to-business online marketplace

   Approximate date Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
5. 2003

   Alibaba launched Taobao, a consumer shopping site

   Year only — exact date unknown Source: Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
6. 2014-09

   Alibaba listed on the New York Stock Exchange in what was then the largest initial public offering in history

   Approximate date Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
7. 2019-09

   Stepped down as executive chairman of Alibaba Group

   Approximate date Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
8. 2020-11

   Regulators halted the planned stock-market listing of Ant Group, days after Ma publicly criticised financial regulators

   Approximate date Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Wikipedia (Jack Ma)
9. 2021-04

   Alibaba was fined $2.8 billion by Chinese regulators for violating anti-monopoly law

   Approximate date Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
10. 7 January 2023

    Ant Group announced a voting-structure change under which Ma gave up control of the company

    Source: History of Jack Ma (ITLibra)
11. 2023-05

    Became a visiting professor at Tokyo College, University of Tokyo, working on sustainable agriculture and food production

    Approximate date Source: History of Jack Ma (ITLibra)

Related Personalities

• Jeff Bezos Entrepreneur and investor · b. 1964
• Bill Gates Software developer and entrepreneur · b. 1955
• Mark Zuckerberg Technology executive · b. 1984
• Elon Musk Entrepreneur · b. 1971

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & References

1. Jack Ma — Encyclopaedia Britannica — Encyclopaedia Britannica (accessed 12 November 2026)
2. Jack Ma — Wikipedia (cross-check) — Wikipedia (accessed 12 November 2026)
3. Jack Ma (b. 1964): Alibaba Founder, 1999 to Ant Group — History of Jack Ma — ITLibra (accessed 12 November 2026)
4. File:Jack Ma 2008.jpg — Wikimedia Commons (portrait file page) — Wikimedia Commons (accessed 12 November 2026)

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