Number of the Day
Billionaire Jack Ma Hasn’t Been Seen in 74 Days
The Alibaba founder hasn’t appeared in public since he criticized Chinese regulators two months ago
74 days: That’s how long it’s been since Chinese billionaire Jack Ma was last seen in public.
On October 24, at the Bund Summit in Shanghai, the co-founder and former chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba gave a speech in which he criticized China’s regulatory framework. This invoked the ire of Chinese government authorities, causing Chinese President Xi Jinping to personally intervene and cancel the highly anticipated IPO of Ant Group, Alibaba’s digital payments arm, in November. Regulators then instructed Ant Group to restructure its operations to comply with new anti-monopoly rules.
Alarms about Ma’s whereabouts weren’t set off until he was replaced last week as the lead judge of a talent show for entrepreneurs, Yahoo! Finance reported. His photo was also removed from a list of judges on the show’s website, fueling speculation that the Chinese government may have gone beyond scuttling an IPO to chastise Ma for his speech. Other Chinese businesspeople have wound up in prison for criticizing regulators.
Here’s hoping that Ma, one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, resurfaces soon.
For more Number of the Day, follow Marker Editors.
