Alibaba's Jack Ma to retire on Monday, focus on philanthropy

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited September 2018
Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma will retire from the company he cofounded on Monday, telling media outlets he plans ply his more than $40 billion fortune on philanthropic efforts in education.

Jack Ma
EPA photo


Ma informed The New York Times of the surprise move on Friday, saying he will step down as Alibaba's executive chairman effective Monday, when he turns 54. China's richest man will stay on the company's board of directors and intends to mentor upcoming management, the report said.

Ma founded Alibaba alongside 17 other people in 1999. Initially developed as a business-to-business e-commerce solution, Alibaba found its stride when it launched the consumer centric Taobao marketplace in 2003.

A behemoth in the Chinese internet shopping space, the company launched complementary services in online payments product Alipay, which was spun out to as subsidiary Ant Financial.

Apple was at one point rumored to partner with Alibaba through Ant in a bid to bring Apple Pay to the Chinese market. Those plans failed to materialize and Alibaba instead integrated with rival payments service Samsung Pay in 2016.

Beyond e-commerce and digital payments, Alibaba has its fingers in online banking, cloud computing digital media and entertainment, and other internet-based products and services.

Ma's departure comes as a surprise to many, as Chinese tycoons rarely retire at such an early age. The move is unlikely to leave the $420 billion company in dire straits, as a number of co-founders and well-seasoned managers are ready to take the reins.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    nunzynunzy Posts: 662member
    Steve probably gave more than 40 Billion to charity but he never bragged about it.
    RobPalmer9
  • Reply 2 of 17
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Boy, is he ever making a huge mistake. Whomever takes over afterward will loot and plunder the company and it’ll be a hollow shell in no time.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 17
    oldcrook59oldcrook59 Posts: 1member
    Jack Ma is lucky enough to retire. Look at other tycoons in China recently, many were either jailed, deceased, or bankrupt.
    watto_cobraWhiskeyAPPLEciderravnorodom
  • Reply 4 of 17
    jumejume Posts: 209member
    Jack Ma is lucky enough to retire. Look at other tycoons in China recently, many were either jailed, deceased, or bankrupt.
    You are wrong about this guy. He is not Tycoon and build his company with his sweat and wisdom. Jacky Ma is actually really great and smart person. All though with all his wealth he still stayed humble. 
    edited September 2018 viclauyycsprint3gissuesWhiskeyAPPLEcider
  • Reply 5 of 17
    viclauyycviclauyyc Posts: 849member
    nunzy said:
    Steve probably gave more than 40 Billion to charity but he never bragged about it.
    I don’t think Steve is ever big on charity. Even if he was, when he passed away, his net worth was around 10.8B. Pretty far from 40B.
    nunzycornchipWhiskeyAPPLEciderravnorodom[Deleted User]
  • Reply 6 of 17
    foregoneconclusionforegoneconclusion Posts: 2,685member
    Billionaires always use tax shelters for philanthropy, thus they're not really using "their fortune". Give them credit for the choices they make on where it goes, not on the money part of it. The taxpayers are the ones that are really funding these things. 
    edited September 2018 watto_cobraWhiskeyAPPLEcider
  • Reply 7 of 17
    Brandon916Brandon916 Posts: 20member
    viclauyyc said:
    nunzy said:
    Steve probably gave more than 40 Billion to charity but he never bragged about it.
    I don’t think Steve is ever big on charity. Even if he was, when he passed away, his net worth was around 10.8B. Pretty far from 40B.
    I don't want to be evil but Steve was a huge cheapo. If he lived longer he could've been the next bill gates. Unfortunate he didn't and he was never known as a generous giver. 
    nunzyWhiskeyAPPLEcider[Deleted User]
  • Reply 8 of 17
    Brandon916Brandon916 Posts: 20member
    foregoneconclusion said:
    Billionaires always use tax shelters for philanthropy, thus they're not really using "their fortune". Give them credit for the choices they make on where it goes, not on the money part of it. The taxpayers are the ones that are really funding these things. 
    Tell that to Warren buffet. He donates billions every year. Sorry, there are rich people who donates like crazy. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 17
    spice-boyspice-boy Posts: 1,450member
    SpamSandwich said:
    Boy, is he ever making a huge mistake. Whomever takes over afterward will loot and plunder the company and it’ll be a hollow shell in no time.
    And you know this because........
    WhiskeyAPPLEcider
  • Reply 10 of 17
    spice-boyspice-boy Posts: 1,450member
    Bubble busting time, every fortune is made from exploiting workers, financing corruptible politicians who will in turn create loopholes in tax laws. The last time in modern day history where there were individuals with that much money was the gilded age, the time of the Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Rockafella all of which ran competition destroying monopolies.
    edited September 2018 WhiskeyAPPLEcider
  • Reply 11 of 17
    christophbchristophb Posts: 1,482member
    spice-boy said:
    Bubble busting time, every fortune is made from exploiting workers, financing corruptible politicians who will in turn create loopholes in tax laws. The last time in modern day history where there were individuals with that much money was the gilded age, the time of the Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Rockafella all of which ran competition destroying monopolies.
    Great info Karl.  Where can we read more?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 17
    foregoneconclusionforegoneconclusion Posts: 2,685member
    Brandon916 said:
    foregoneconclusion said:
    Billionaires always use tax shelters for philanthropy, thus they're not really using "their fortune". Give them credit for the choices they make on where it goes, not on the money part of it. The taxpayers are the ones that are really funding these things. 
    Tell that to Warren buffet. He donates billions every year. Sorry, there are rich people who donates like crazy. 
    Right...he donates through foundations that are typically tax shelters. Give them credit for where it goes, not the money itself. Taxpayers are ultimately footing the bill. 
    WhiskeyAPPLEcider
  • Reply 13 of 17
    thrangthrang Posts: 1,008member
    "Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma will retire from the company he cofounded on Monday..." That's a really short tenure.
    watto_cobraSpamSandwichWhiskeyAPPLEcider
  • Reply 14 of 17
    CobraGuyCobraGuy Posts: 76member
    nunzy said:
    Steve probably gave more than 40 Billion to charity but he never bragged about it.
    I am sure he gave money.

    But 40 billion?

    Rethink that.
    watto_cobracornchipnunzyWhiskeyAPPLEcider
  • Reply 15 of 17
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,950member


    Funny lookin dude..
  • Reply 16 of 17
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    cornchip said:


    Funny lookin dude..
    He was at the right place at the right time and has been pretty smart about developing his business. I still think he’s making a major mistake turning over his company to someone else.
    WhiskeyAPPLEcider
  • Reply 17 of 17
    RobPalmer9RobPalmer9 Posts: 12member
    SpamSandwich said:
    Boy, is he ever making a huge mistake. Whomever takes over afterward will loot and plunder the company and it’ll be a hollow shell in no time.
    We can only hope. AliBaba and Amazon are an absolute cancer to manufacturers and retailers.
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