Alibaba: Jack Ma will leave September 10, will do philanthropy

2019-09-09T15:56:22.078Z

Jack Ma, co-founder and executive president of Alibaba, the $ 420 billion Chinese e-commerce giant, intends to leave the company on September 10th. The New York Times writes, stating that Ma will devote himself to philanthropic activities, following in the footsteps of Microsoft founder Bill Gates who in 2008 left the company (remaining honorary president) to devote himself to philanthropic activities. Former English teacher, Ma founded Alibaba in 1999, becoming the richest man in China. "It is the beginning of a new era," said Ma, announcing his retirement even though he will remain on the board of the group and will continue to mentor the new management. It is the end of an era for Alibaba, the e-commerce giant that has shaped the digital life of the Chinese. For China, he was a pioneer, who built an internet giant valued at $ 420.8 billion based on yesterday's closing down from yesterday. Ma's announcement is unusual, because the New York Times is blocked in China and therefore not visible to Chinese users, but they are often able to circumvent the ban. Alibaba, to date, has not yet issued official communiqués. However in an interview with Bloomberg TV released yesterday, But already suggested his project to retire, saying he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, become one of the most prolific philanthropists of the world. "There are many things I can learn from Bill Gates. He can never be so rich, but one thing I can do better is retire earlier," he said in the interview Ma. "I think that one day, soon, I'll be back to teaching ". And he added that he was preparing philanthropic plans and his foundation "for 10 years". But he is part of a generation of billionaire web entrepreneurs who have designed the Chinese web, creating successful companies. Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, JR.com are for China what Facebook and Google have been for the US.