Jack Ma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jack Ma
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| 马云 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ma in 2018
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| Born | 10 September 1964 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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| Education | Hangzhou Normal University (BA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Known for | Co-founder of Alibaba Group | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title | Co-founder of Yunfeng Capital | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Zhang Ying | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | Yi Jia Zhang (daughter) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 马云 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 馬雲 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jack Ma Yun (Chinese: 马云; pinyin: Mǎ Yún; born 10 September 1964) is a famous Chinese businessman, investor, and helper of others. He is best known as the co-founder of Alibaba Group, a huge technology company that works all over the world. Ma also helped start Yunfeng Capital, a Chinese investment company. As of 2024, he is one of the wealthiest people in China and the world.
Jack Ma was born in Hangzhou, China. He earned a degree in English from Hangzhou Normal University in 1988. After graduating, he became an English teacher. He became very interested in the internet in the 1990s. This led him to start his first business in 1994. In 1999, he and his friends started Alibaba Group. It began as a website for businesses to sell to each other, but it grew into many different areas of the Chinese economy.
In 2017, Fortune magazine named him one of the "World's 50 Greatest Leaders." He is seen as an important person in Chinese business and for new companies. In 2018, he announced he would leave Alibaba to focus on education, helping others, and environmental causes. Daniel Zhang took over as chairman the next year.
In 2019, Forbes magazine recognized Ma for his charity work. He helped communities in China, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East.
Contents
Early Life & Education
Jack Ma was born in Hangzhou, China, on 10 September 1964. As a child, he loved learning English. He practiced by talking to English-speaking visitors at a local hotel. For nine years, he rode his bicycle about 17 miles (27 km) every day. He would guide foreigners around Hangzhou to practice his English. One of these foreigners became his pen pal and gave him the nickname "Jack."
Ma had a tough time in school. He struggled with his studies, especially math. He failed the national college entrance exam, called the Gaokao, two times. On his first try, he only got 1 point in math. On his second try, he got 19 points. Despite this, he was determined to go to college. In 1984, he took the exam a third time and scored 89 points in math. Even though this was still below the passing score, he was accepted into Hangzhou Normal University. This happened because the English department needed more students.
Once at university, Ma's grades got much better. He was often one of the top five students in the foreign language department. He also became the chairman of the student union. In 1988, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English. After graduating, he taught English and international trade at Hangzhou Dianzi University.
Business Journey
Starting Out
After college, Jack Ma applied for many different jobs, but he was rejected from all of them. He even tried to get a job at KFC when it opened in his city. Twenty-four people applied, and 23 were hired. Jack Ma was the only one rejected.
In 1994, Ma first heard about the internet. He started his first company, a translation agency. In 1995, he traveled to the United States. He noticed that there was almost no information about China on the internet. So, he and a friend created a simple website about Chinese beer. Within hours, he received emails from people interested in his website. This made Ma realize the internet's huge potential.
In April 1995, Ma and his partner opened their first internet business, China Pages. They registered the website chinapages.com in the U.S. This company made a good amount of money in three years.
Building Alibaba
From 1998 to 1999, Jack Ma worked for a government-related internet company. In 1999, he left that job and returned to Hangzhou. In his apartment, he and 18 friends started Alibaba. It was a website where businesses could sell to other businesses. They started with about 500,000 yuan (Chinese money).
In 1999 and 2000, Alibaba received $25 million from investors like Goldman Sachs and SoftBank. The goal was to help Chinese businesses, especially smaller ones, sell their products online. Alibaba started to make a profit after three years.
In 2003, Ma created other important companies like Taobao Marketplace, Alipay, and Tmall. Taobao grew very quickly. The American company eBay wanted to buy Taobao, but Ma said no. Instead, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang invested $1 billion in Alibaba.
Leading Alibaba Group
Since 1999, Jack Ma was the executive chairman of Alibaba Group. Alibaba became one of China's biggest technology companies. It has many parts, including Alibaba.com, Taobao Marketplace, Tmall, and Alipay.
In 2010, Ma announced that Alibaba Group would use 0.3% of its yearly income to protect the environment. This money would help improve water and air quality. He said that Alibaba's goal was to help people make "sustainable money" that is good for society.
Even though Alibaba is a technology company, Jack Ma was not a computer expert. He studied English, not computer science. But he was very good at leading, managing, and bringing together talented people. He once said that he had never written computer code or sold anything to a customer. He only got his first personal computer when he was 33 years old.
In 2012, Alibaba's online sales reached over one trillion yuan. Ma stepped down as CEO of Alibaba in 2013 but remained the executive chairman. In 2014, Alibaba raised over $25 billion when it offered its shares to the public on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 2017, Ma met with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. They talked about how Alibaba could create 1 million jobs in the U.S. Ma also performed on stage at Alibaba's 18th-anniversary party, dressed like Michael Jackson.
On 10 September 2018, Ma announced he would step down as executive chairman of Alibaba Group the next year. He said he wanted to focus on helping others through his foundation. Daniel Zhang took over his role. Ma left the board of Alibaba in October 2020.
Recent Activities
News reports noted that Jack Ma was not seen in public much between October 2020 and January 2021. This happened during a time when the Chinese government was looking closely at his businesses. He made a public appearance again in January 2021, speaking to a group of rural teachers online.
In November 2022, it was reported that Ma was living a quiet life in Tokyo, Japan. In March 2023, photos and videos showed him visiting the Yungu school in Hangzhou, China. This school is funded by Alibaba.
In May 2023, the University of Tokyo announced that Ma would be a visiting professor. He would research sustainable farming and food production and give talks on starting businesses.
Entertainment Career
In 2017, Jack Ma acted in his first kung fu short film called Gong Shou Dao. The film also starred famous actors like Jet Li and Donnie Yen. It was made to celebrate the Double 11 Shopping Carnival (Singles' Day). In the same year, he sang and danced at Alibaba's 18th-anniversary party.
Awards and Recognition
Jack Ma has received many awards and honors for his work:
- In 2004, he was named one of the "Top 10 Economic Personalities of the Year" by China Central Television (CCTV).
- In 2005, the World Economic Forum chose him as a "Young Global Leader." Fortune magazine also named him one of the "25 Most Powerful Businesspeople in Asia."
- In 2009, Time magazine listed Ma as one of the world's 100 most powerful people. He was also on this list in 2014.
- In 2010, Forbes Asia named him one of Asia's Heroes of Philanthropy for his help with disaster relief and poverty.
- In 2013, he received an honorary doctoral degree from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
- In 2016, he was given the Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour by France.
- In 2017, Fortune ranked Ma second on its World's 50 Greatest Leaders list.
- In 2018, he received honorary doctorates from the University of Hong Kong and Tel Aviv University.
- In 2019, Forbes named Ma in its list of "Asia's 2019 Heroes of Philanthropy" for his work helping communities in need. He also received the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award.
- In 2020, he received medals from King Abdullah II of Jordan and the President of Pakistan for his help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Views and Beliefs
Jack Ma follows both Buddhism and Taoism.
In 2017, Ma suggested that using big data and artificial intelligence (AI) could help plan economies better. This technology could fill in gaps that limited older ways of planning.
In 2018, the People's Daily newspaper said that Ma was a member of the Chinese Communist Party. This surprised many people.
Ma has talked about the "996 working hour system" in China, which means working from 9 AM to 9 PM, six days a week. In 2019, he said that this hard work was important for success. However, he also said that AI technology might lead to a future where people only need to work four hours a day, three days a week. Ma believes that AI cannot fully replace people because success also needs a "love quotient," which machines cannot match. He also predicted that a shrinking population would become a big problem in the future.
Helping Others (Philanthropy)
Jack Ma is the founder of the Jack Ma Foundation. This organization focuses on improving education, protecting the environment, and helping public health.
- In 2008, Alibaba donated $808,000 to help people affected by the Sichuan earthquake.
- In 2009, Ma became a trustee for The Nature Conservancy's China program. He joined their global board of directors in 2010.
- In 2015, Alibaba started a nonprofit called Alibaba Hong Kong Young Entrepreneurs Foundation. It helps young business owners in Hong Kong.
- In 2015, his company also helped rebuild houses damaged by an earthquake in Nepal.
- In 2015, he founded the Hupan School, a business school.
- In September 2018, Ma started the Jack Ma Foundation and announced he would leave Alibaba to focus on education, charity, and environmental causes.
- In 2019, Forbes recognized him for his charity work in China, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East.
- In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Alibaba Foundation and Jack Ma Foundation donated medical supplies to many countries around the world.
Images for kids
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Ma in 2018
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Ma speaking at the 2007 China Trust Global Leaders Forum
See also
In Spanish: Jack Ma para niños
