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Billionaire Jack Ma, the outspoken co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA), has been the subject of much speculation in recent years as he stepped back from public view after criticizing China’s regulators.
He has recently appeared in Japan and Europe, having stepped down as chairman of Alibaba in 2019. However, he remains the largest shareholder in the company, which is responsible for the bulk of his net worth as one of China’s richest men.
How did Jack Ma make his money? This article looks at Jack Ma’s current net worth as well as his background and career.
Key Takeaways
- Jack Ma’s net worth has dropped from a peak of over $61 billion in 2020 to approximately $33 billion in 2024, primarily driven by regulatory challenges in China that affected the value of his major businesses, Alibaba and Ant Group.
- The Chinese government’s intervention—including halting Ant Group’s public stock exchange listing and charging Alibaba with antitrust fines—has been a major factor in the decline of Ma’s wealth.
- Since stepping down from Alibaba’s leadership, Ma has returned to his roots in education, becoming a visiting professor at universities in Asia and Africa and focusing on philanthropy through the Jack Ma Foundation.
- Even with a reduced net worth, Jack Ma remains one of the world’s richest men and most influential entrepreneurs.
Jack Ma’s Net Worth
Jack Ma’s run-in with Chinese authorities had a significant impact on his wealth. Jack Ma’s net worth at its peak in 2020 was $61.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which made him Asia’s richest person.
But it subsequently fell heavily—by as much as $4.1 billion in the space of a week—as regulators canceled the initial public offering (IPO) of Alibaba’s financial services arm Ant Group and fined the firm almost $1 billion for breaching consumer protection and corporate governance regulations. Alibaba was also fined $2.8 billion for antitrust behavior.
Ma holds a 9.9% stake in Ant Group, according to Bloomberg.
Jack Ma’s net worth in 2024 is estimated to be around $33.3 billion—less than half the peak level—although that still makes him the 5th richest man in China and the 50th richest in the world, according to Bloomberg’s tracker.
Current Net Worth
Wealth Fluctuations
Jack Ma’s net worth has fluctuated significantly in recent years, owing to stock market volatility as well as the regulatory crackdowns.
The Alibaba founder saw his net worth surpass $20 billion in 2014 when the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in a $25 billion IPO—which was the world’s biggest at the time. Ma’s net worth grew over the following year as Alibaba’s e-commerce business grew to one of the biggest in China and Ant Group’s Alipay became one of the biggest digital payment services. The former teacher’s wealth doubled to more than $40 billion in 2019 and soared to $61 billion in 2020 as online services grew rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the Chinese government canceled Ant Group’s IPO in late 2020 as part of a regulatory crackdown on the fintech industry. The IPO would have been the largest in history, and the cancellation dragged down the company’s valuation.
Jack Ma’s net worth fell to $48 billion in 2021, both because of the drop in Ant Group’s value and the impact on Alibaba’s share price—particularly following its own antitrust fine.
Alibaba’s share price was also affected by a broader stock market decline, driven in part by trade tensions between the US and China, global economic uncertainty, and shifting investor sentiment affecting technology stocks.
Ma’s decision to step back from Alibaba’s leadership in 2019 and disappearance from public in late 2020 reduced the confidence among investors, further weighing on his net worth.
Jack Ma’s net worth in 2023 dropped to $34 billion, down from $38 billion in 2022. Despite the decline, Ma is still one of the world’s wealthiest people, although he now has a more subdued presence in the business world.
Instead, he appears to be focusing on his roots as an educator by speaking at various universities.
Position at Alibaba and Impact on Ma’s Wealth
Jack Ma co-founded Alibaba in 1999 with 17 friends in his apartment in Hangzhou, China, and served as Alibaba CEO until 2013. Ma’s strategic approach and charismatic leadership were key to driving the company’s growth, which contributed significantly to his wealth.
Ma was succeeded as CEO by Jonathan Lu, who had worked at the company since 2000 and played a role in developing its early business models.
Daniel Zhang, previously Chief Operating Officer, took over from Lu as CEO in 2015 and succeeded Ma as Executive Chairman in September 2019.
Ma remained on the board of directors until 2020, and his step back reduced his direct influence over the company?, contributing to a gradual decline in the company’s share price.
Despite his stepping down, Ma’s net worth remained heavily tied to Alibaba and Ant Group, so the Chinese regulatory crackdown reduced Alibaba’s market value and had a direct impact on Ma’s net worth. Although he retains a substantial stake as an Alibaba owner, Ma’s decreased public and corporate presence has contributed to the erosion of his wealth.
Current Projects
In his post-Alibaba career, Ma appears to be focused on education and philanthropic work. He founded the Jack Ma Foundation in 2014, which supports causes in education, entrepreneurship, public health, and environmental protection.
Jack Ma accepted an honorary professorship at the University of Hong Kong, having started a three-year term on April 1, 2023, that runs until March 2026.
He has also taken on a visiting professor role at the University of Tokyo, giving a special seminar on innovation and entrepreneurship in June 2023. And in April 2023 he was appointed as a visiting professor at African Leadership University (ALU), which has a campus in Rwanda and a college in Mauritius.
Ma is also a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Emeritus Advocate. He serves on the global board of directors of the global environmental non-profit The Nature Conservancy and is co-chair of the Chinese conservation charity Paradise Foundation.
Education and Early Ventures
Jack Ma was born in Hangzhou, China, in 1964. He faced challenges in his early education, struggling academically. He failed the Chinese university entrance exams twice, passing the third time. Ma earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Hangzhou Teacher’s Institute, which is now called Hangzhou Normal University, in 1988. After graduating, Ma became an English teacher at Hangzhou Dianzi University.
Ma founded his first business in 1994, the Hangzhou Haibo Translation Agency, which reflected his interest in English translation. The following year, he founded Internet business China Pages to create websites for Chinese companies.
Ma then worked for a government-owned IT company in 1998-1999, where he created websites for the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Ma went on to found Alibaba with the goal of creating a global e-commerce platform. The company initially provided a business-to-business (B2B) marketplace to connect Chinese manufacturers with overseas buyers?.
Jack Ma’s education and early ventures played a role in shaping his entrepreneurial journey, providing the groundwork for his later success with Alibaba.
Personal Life and Real Estate
Jack Ma’s wife is Zhang Ying. They met while they were both studying at Hangzhou Teacher’s Institute. Zhang Ying and Jack Ma’s son is Ma Yuankun (Jerry Ma), while their daughter is Ma Yuanbao.
Despite his international profile, Jack Ma keeps his personal life relatively private, and his wife and children are largely out of the public eye.
Jack Ma is believed to still live in his hometown of Hangzhou, China, where Alibaba is headquartered. He also reportedly owns several properties around the world, including in Hong Kong and New York State in the US.
Philanthropy and Spending
The Jack Ma Foundation forms the basis of Ma’s philanthropic activities. One of its main areas of focus is improving rural education in China by providing grants and resources to schools and teachers in underdeveloped areas. A flagship program is the Rural Teacher Initiative, reflecting Ma’s personal interest in education.
The Foundation also supports entrepreneurship in Africa through its Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative, aiming to create opportunities for aspiring businesspeople.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation donated millions of masks, test kits, and other medical supplies to more than 150 countries around the world, part of Ma’s commitment to supporting public health initiatives.
In addition to spending on real estate, Ma is also known to have invested in art and cultural artifacts to preserve Chinese cultural heritage.
The Bottom Line
Jack Ma’s net worth, currently estimated at around $33.3 billion, reflects his success as a co-founder of Alibaba and the challenges he has faced in recent years. From a peak of over $61 billion in 2020, Ma’s wealth has declined because of regulatory crackdowns on his businesses, particularly the halted IPO of the Ant Group financial services firm and scrutiny of Alibaba.
However, Ma remains one of the wealthiest individuals globally. Having stepped back from the day-to-day running of Alibaba, Ma has returned to his interest in education, becoming a visiting professor at various universities and spending more time on his philanthropic ventures.
