Jack Ma

Ma Yun born September 10, 1964), known professionally as Jack Ma, is a Chinese business magnate who is the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, a family of Internet-based businesses.

He is currently the richest person in Asia and the 14th richest in the world, with a net worth of US$41.8 billion, as of June 2017. He has become a global icon in business and entrepreneurship, one of the world's most influential businessmen, and a philanthropist known for expounding his philosophy of business. He was ranked 2nd in Fortune's 2017 "World's 50 Greatest Leaders" list.

Ma was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Ma started to study English at a young age and practiced English daily by conversing with English-speakers at Hangzhou hotel, a 40 minute bike ride from his home. He would give them tours around the city for free to improve his English. He did this for nine years. He became pen pals with one of those foreigners, who nicknamed him "Jack" because he found it hard to pronounce his Chinese name.

Later in his youth, Ma struggled to attend college. The Chinese entrance exams are held only once a year and it took Ma four years to pass. After that, Ma attended Hangzhou Teacher's Institute(currently known as Hangzhou Normal University) and graduated in 1988 with a B.A. in English. While at school, Ma was head of the student council. After graduation, he became a lecturer of English and International Trade at Hangzhou Dianzi University. He later enrolled at Beijing-based Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) and graduated in 2006.

Jack Ma has built e-commerce firm Alibaba into a behemoth. Its IPO in New York in 2014 set a record as the world's biggest public stock offering. Though dogged by criticism that Alibaba doesn't do enough to limit the sale of fakes, Ma is leading Alibaba to ever higher sales. A record $463 billion of business transactions were conducted on Alibaba's retail platforms in the fiscal year through March 2016. The company set a goal of creating 10 million profitable businesses and 100 million jobs in the next 20 years. Ma made headlines at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January, when he told CNBC that America has no one to blame but itself for its economic issues. Beyond e-commerce, in October 2016 Alibaba's film unit forged an alliance with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners, giving a potential boost to a struggling effort so far in the entertainment industry.