‘Alive’: Chinese billionaire Jack Ma abruptly emerges

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma is “alive” and “happy”, according to a top executive, speaking more than two years after the tech founder mysteriously vanished.

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma is “alive” and “happy” according to a top Alibaba executive, speaking more than two years after the famous and once high-profile business owner mysteriously vanished.

Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, was one of the world’s most high-profile, globetrotting businessmen until 2020, when he was caught up in President Xi Jinping’s brutal tech crackdown after criticising the Chinese Communist Party.

He vanished from public life for almost an entire year, with more than a few conspiracy theories circulating as to what happened to him and whether he was even alive.

The bizarre situation only became stranger when Ma, once China’s richest man, abruptly announced he would become a university lecturer in Japan.

Now, a top executive at the company Ma founded insists the billionaire is alive and well — in fact, he’s just taught his first class at the University of Tokyo.

A top executive insists that Jack Ma, who vanished from public life in 2020, is alive and well. Picture: STR / AFP

In a statement last week, the university said Ma — who launched Alibaba from his apartment in 1999 — led a special seminar on June 12 on the topic of “innovation and entrepreneurship” as part of its Global Leadership Program.

“The seminar focused on management philosophy and how the younger generation can achieve success in the future and was based on Professor Ma’s rich experience and pioneering knowledge,” the University of Tokyo said, sharing a photo of Ma with dozens of his new students.

“The participating students engaged in a meaningful discussion with Professor Ma. The two-hour seminar was a valuable learning opportunity for the students.”

【NEWS】ジャック・マー客員教授、特別セミナーに講師として登壇

6月12日夕方、東京カレッジは、東京大学グローバルリーダー育成プログラム（GLP）推進室と共同で、特別セミナー「Innovation and Entrepreneurship」を開催しました。https://t.co/1AYV7AA3yUpic.twitter.com/lNTRjSvOdt

— 東京カレッジ / Tokyo College (@CollegeTokyo) June 19, 2023

Ma became a professor at the university on May 1, according to his staff profile, and his tenure will end on October 31.

In April, it was announced that Ma had also accepted a three-year role as honorary professor at the University of Hong Kong, where he will focus on conducting research in finance, agriculture and entrepreneurial innovations with faculty members.

Alibaba president Michael Evans added his voice to the chorus insisting that Ma was really, completely fine.

Speaking at the Vivatech conference in Paris on Thursday, Evans said: “He’s well, he’s happy. He’s creative. He’s thinking. He’s teaching at a university in Tokyo, spending more time in China.”

Ma vanished after criticising China’s economic policy. Picture: Fabrice Coffrini / AFP

Ma stepped down as chairman of Alibaba in 2019 and, the next year, openly criticised China’s financial regulators for being too risk-averse.

What followed was a CCP-led crackdown on Alibaba and Ma himself, including the last-minute cancellation of Alibaba-affiliated Ant Group’s record-breaking $34.5 billion public share offering, Ma giving up control of the fintech giant and Alibaba being slapped with a $2.8 billion antitrust fine.

In January, Ma ceded control of the fintech company Ant Group, reducing his voting rights from more than 50 per cent to just 6.2 per cent.

He was spotted at a hotel in Melbourne earlier this year on a rare outing. In fact, the sighting was so exceptional, a photo of it went viral.

Originally published as ‘Alive’: Chinese billionaire Jack Ma abruptly emerges