How Alibaba's Jack Ma Became the Richest Man in China
SEPTEMBER 23, 2014 English teacher and Internet entrepreneur Jack Ma founded Alibaba 15 years ago in his tiny apartment in Hanzhou, China. On Friday, Ma became the richest man in China on the heels of the biggest IPO in U.S. and possibly world history. With a market cap of $231 billion, the online retailer is nearly as valuable as Wal-Mart and bigger than Amazon and eBay combined. And this is just the beginning. Alibaba plans to expand aggressively in America and Europe and has already invested nearly $1 billion in a host of U.S.-based startups, including Uber, Lyft, ShopRunner, Fanatics, Tango and Kabam. Every current and aspiring entrepreneur and business leader should learn from how a Chinese English teacher turned a vision, a group of friends and $60,000 into untold riches and the world's most valuable Internet commerce company. It will no doubt be studied in business schools for generations. Start here, go anywhere. Recognizing th...