Jack Ma, also known as Ma Yun (born September 10, 1964), is a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder and former executive chairman of the Alibaba Group, a highly successful family of internet-based businesses. Ma is notably the first entrepreneur from mainland China to appear on the cover of Forbes magazine.
Ma was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. From a young age, he developed a strong desire to learn English. Every morning, he rode his bicycle to a nearby hotel to converse with foreign visitors. He guided them around the city for free in exchange for English practice. He continued this routine for nine years. One of his pen pals, an English speaker, gave him the nickname “Jack” because his Chinese name was difficult to pronounce.
Though he failed the national university entrance exam three times, Ma was eventually admitted to Hangzhou Normal University (formerly Hangzhou Teachers Institute), where he graduated in 1988 with a degree in English. He was elected student body president and later became an English and International Trade teacher at Hangzhou Dianzi University. He later enrolled at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) in Beijing, graduating in 2006.
Ma famously applied to 30 different jobs and was rejected by all of them. “I went for a job with the police; they said, ‘You’re not good,’” he once recalled. “Even when KFC came to my city, 24 people applied and 23 were accepted. I was the only one who wasn’t.”
In 1994, Ma first heard about the internet. In early 1995, he traveled to the United States, where friends introduced him to the web. During his first experience online, he searched the word “beer.” He found information from many countries but was surprised that none came from China. He also searched for general information about China and again found no results. This prompted him and a friend to create a simple website about China. Within five hours, he had received emails from Chinese users wanting to know more.
Recognizing the potential of the internet, in April 1995 Ma, his wife, and a friend pooled $20,000 to start an internet company. The business focused on creating websites for local businesses and was named “China Yellow Pages.” Within three years, the company had earned 5 million yuan (approximately $800,000 USD).