Jack Ma was born on September 10, 1964, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. He grew up in a poor family and was educated under the strict Marxist doctrines taught in Chinese communist schools. From an early age, he began studying English and improved his skills by offering free guided tours of Hangzhou to foreign tourists staying at a local hotel.
He attempted to enter university four times before finally being accepted to Hangzhou Teacher’s Institute (now known as Hangzhou Normal University), where he graduated in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in English. While studying, he became the head of the student council. After graduation, he worked as a lecturer in English and International Trade at Hangzhou Dianzi University. Years later, he enrolled in the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing, graduating in 2006.
At the beginning of his professional life, he earned just 12 dollars a month. He applied for jobs at 30 companies and was rejected by all of them. Even the local police and a newly arrived Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant turned him down; of the 24 people who applied, he was the only one not hired. He also applied to Harvard University ten times but was never accepted.
In 1995, just two years after internet access came to China, he founded China Yellowpages, considered the country’s first internet company.
In 1999, he founded Alibaba Group and became its Executive Chairman. He chose the name “Alibaba” for its simplicity and global recognition. The idea came while visiting the United States, where he couldn’t find Qingdao beer online. He thought there should be a platform to connect global commerce. The original code for the website was written at his home by friends who believed in the idea. Initially focused on the business-to-business (B2B) market, Alibaba went on to revolutionize global trade with China.
The company started with 18 co-founders, although only two remained in the long run. Today, Alibaba handles around 80 percent of China’s online commerce, serving both major international brands and small local artisans.
He was the first entrepreneur from mainland China to appear on the cover of Forbes and became the richest person in the country following Alibaba’s IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, which raised 25 billion dollars — the largest IPO in history at the time.
Jack Ma enjoys reading and writing fiction, plays poker, and practices meditation and Tai Chi. He is known for organizing mass wedding ceremonies through Alibaba, including one with over 700 couples. He is married to Zhang Ying, whom he met while studying in Hangzhou, and they have a son and a daughter.