Jack Ma’s departure comes amid “Beijing’s continued crackdown on top businessmen,” says FT
The founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (“Alibaba”) and billionaire Jack Ma (net worth, according to Forbes, of about $22 billion, the fifth richest person in China) left China six months ago and live in Japan, he reports The Financial Times (FT).
The paper claimed that Jack Ma fled the country due to “Beijing’s continued crackdown on the country’s tech sector and its most powerful businessmen.”
FT sources cited by RBCthey state that Jack Ma lives in central Tokyo and has visited hot springs and ski resorts in Japan with his family, as well as traveling to the United States and Israel.
There were various data on what exactly the billionaire is doing at the moment. Some sources claim that he minimized social activities and hangs out with wealthy Chinese in private clubs in Tokyo. Others have told of his attempts to expand his business interests beyond the e-commerce that his companies do. And others say Ma started collecting and painted with watercolors.
In October 2020, Ma criticized Chinese authorities’ policies, which he said were stifling innovation in the financial sector. In particular, he said the FT spoke about the “pawnshop mentality” of China’s state-owned banks and urged new market players who have the capacity to provide loans to the poor.
Billionaire Ma Yun (real name Jack Ma) was born in 1964. He founded Alibaba in the late 1990s, which initially did not generate income, but after receiving huge investments, it began to develop rapidly. In 2008 the Tmall marketplace was launched and in 2010 AliExpress. In 2014, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange, setting up a record-breaking IPO ($25 billion). Jack Ma stepped down as chairman of the board in 2019.
