Jack Ma, Co-founder and CEO of Alibaba plans to retire from the Chinese e-commerce giant on Monday to devote his time to philanthropy focused on education.
Ma was an English teacher before starting Alibaba in 1999 and built it into a multibillion-dollar internet colossus, becoming one of the world’s richest men and a revered figure in his homeland.
His own worth has soared along with that of the company, which was valued at Rs. 30.3 lakh crores based on its share price at the close of trade on Friday.
Ma, who gave up the title of CEO in 2013, said he now planned to devote his time and fortune to education. He is the first of his generation of Uber wealthy tech bosses to retire, a rare move in a country where business figures often run their empires well into their 80’s Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing only retired in May at the age of 89.
