LEGEND
Jack Ma
Job Title : Co-founder and former CEO Company : E-commerce company Alibaba
The underdog billionaire Jack Ma was rejected by Harvard ten times and went on to become the third richest man in China
Everyone likes a rags to riches story − the underdog who wins , an unlikely , worthy winner who has sweat for their success .
After telling the World Economic Forum “ If you want to change the world change yourself ”, Jack Ma was a clear winner of Sustainability ’ s issue one legend .
Born in 1964 in the city of Hangzhou , China , Ma developed a skill for the English language , which he practised with tourists , but struggled with mathematics . This caused Ma to fail his Hangzhou Teachers College entrance exam twice .
Ma secured his bachelor ’ s degree in English in 1988 . Ma taught English for a few years and then decided to set up his first company , Haibo Translation Agency ( now known as Hangzhou Hope Translation Agency ), in 1994 , which offers to “ work hand in hand for a brighter future ” with customers .
Ma ’ s life changing trip to the USA During a trip to the USA in 1995 , Ma discovered the internet and decided to take this technology back to China . After a series of internet ventures , both in Beijing and in Hangzhou , Ma
Jack Ma was rejected from
Harvard ten times . He failed his university entrance exam three times .
In 2021 , Ma became the third wealthiest person in China , with a net-worth of
$ 51bn eventually sourced the perfect team to found the Alibaba Group . Initially Alibaba Group was designed to help small businesses find other small businesses , who for a small membership fee would be able to sell and buy .
In 2005 , Yahoo bought a 40 % stake in Alibaba Group and Ma was officially a legend .
“ We want to make sure that our ecosystem has the small guys . Anything that will help small businesses grow , we will consider ”, Jack Ma told Bloomberg QuickTake , after laughing off the suggestion of buying Yahoo .
Ma set up Alipay in 2003 to assist in third party transactions and Ant Group in 2014 to facilitate Alipay and other financial groups .
Ma ’ s life changing trip to the USA In 2016 , Ma was appointed UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate . Alongside other international influential figures , such as Iraqi Nobel Peace Prize winner , Nadia Murad , the advocates are tasked to increase awareness on sustainable topics and to help reach the targets world leaders set upon in 2015 , primarily to alleviate poverty .
Ma got to work on this in 2019 , by setting up the television programme Africa ' s Business Heroes , which aims to celebrate African entrepreneurs and to build an inclusive economy . Ma has pledged $ 100m over a decade to support talented African entrepreneurs .
Ma remains a keen learner , musician and Tai Chi enthusiast .
20 July 2021